


Homemade Wasteland

by blackberrysilk



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Romance, Season 2 compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 35,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20127820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackberrysilk/pseuds/blackberrysilk
Summary: Calico has been on her own for as long as she can remember, but when she crosses paths with the gang she’s thrust right in the middle of a dangerous battle against a mysterious force that threatens to destroy everything she’s ever known... And possibly provide answers to questions she’s never realized she possessed, whilst leading her to a family she’s never had, and a love she never expected.





	1. Chapter 1

(Y/N) is her birth name, but Calico is the one she's been given. The only one that matters. Very few people know her birth name, and she prefers to keep it that way. 

Most of the inhabitants of Hawkins are aware of her presence in the town, and through trial and error have learned to let her be to do her own thing, enough to the point where she can drift about with relative ease and not be bothered. For the most part. 

While she's certainly no urban legend, some kids around town have used sightings of Calico as a sort of right of passage, while others treat it as some sort of game—a dare. It's mostly harmless, but over the years it has grown a increasingly annoying. Multiple instances have occurred where she's had to leave many of her belongings behind and quickly relocate to find new areas to settle due to breaches of privacy from some nosy kid or another stumbling upon where she happens to live at the time. 

Luckily, various caches are hidden around town containing supplies she may need. Despite being left alone for the most part, Calico has quickly learned that it isn't entirely safe or smart to have all of her belongings grouped together in one spot. Thankfully Hawkins is a small town and it doesn't take her long to locate and pick up what she needs. There have been times, even, when she has received donations; left baskets of food or plastic bins with blankets, towels, or clothes. Other essentials like toiletries and basic medical supplies, or even frivolous objects like magazines, notebooks, and pencils have been offered as well in areas she's known to frequent. 

Part of Calico wonders if these people pity her and that's why they leave things so often. As if it really matters, though; these displays of kindness have kept her alive and healthy for years. In return, she keeps a sharp eye and ear out for any trouble that may come to roll into this quaint little Indiana town. That may be partly why the police department doesn't bother her. While vigilantism is generally frowned upon, offering tips that help others does no harm. 

This has become particularly true after her hand in helping solve the Will Byers case. Without a doubt, that was the strangest time of her young life. As far as she knows, none aside from the town's police chief Jim Hopper and Will's own mother Joyce Byers are aware of her involvement in finding Will, seeing as she's the one who found the body double drifting face-down in the water at the quarry while hunting. It gave her the shock of her life. Safe to say she hasn't done much hunting since. Partly due to the donations, but mostly because of the panic being out in the woods for too long induces, as it pulls the vivid memory of the horrifying event from its confinement in the back of her mind. 

Today Calico resides in a corner of an abandoned sort-of-junkyard. Old worn-down cars litter the land, pieces of metal and random parts left behind to rust and weather away. Having found an ice cream truck years out of commission, Calico has refurbished it to resemble a small room inside. She gutted and tossed out anything useless or in the way and replaced it with more useful necessities. Now it's hers, and it's in perfect condition for the colder months that are fast approaching. 

It's the beginning of November, if her calendar is correct; she made it herself, using a spiral notebook and crayons gifted to her to draw out the dates of the next year, as she does every year. She'd taken a trip to the local library and sketched out nearly every detail of the small calendar that rests on the circulation desk. Every detail other than the impressionist paintings that accompanied each month. Calico had never been much good with drawing. 

Her artistic medium of choice has always been sculpting. She still isn't much good, she thinks, but her pieces give more personality to her homes. And when she leaves, she tends to leave them behind. A marker of sorts. 

Calico has recently completed a new project: a button wall. She'd found an old cork board in decent condition and decided it was the perfect place to display her collection of buttons. She has so many there's still some left in the pencil case she previously stored them all in. Arranging them by color, shape, and size, she pinned the buttons to the board with anything she could find: tape, nails, thumbnails, glue. 

She is placing the piece in its new home against the windshield (now covered with layers of paper bags, wrapping paper, newspaper). A small portable heater whirs on the floor, warming up the truck. The built-in insulation meant to keep in the heat rather than the cold helps to thaw out Calico's fingers grown icy by the dropping temperatures outside. Winter is fast approaching, and it's her least favorite season. 

After spending the day gathering supplies from various caches across town, Calico is ready to settle in for the evening. When her ears catch the sound of voices not too far away, agitation bubbles under her skin. 

Has her new shelter been found already? Not even three days ago she moved in here. She’s in an abandoned junkyard of all places, does that not provide any privacy? Even as a stray, she knows she deserves something as simple as that. 

Calico peels aside the corner of the paper covering the windshield and peeks out. Three—no, four, people stand near the other side of the junkyard beside the abandoned bus. One stands taller than the others and moves around, pointing as if lecturing them. Another with curly brown hair beneath a baseball cap seems to be arguing with a young black boy. The fourth is a pale long-haired redhead wandering around with purpose, gathering random objects and returning to the bus. None of them appear to be searching for her in particular; they must not know she's here at all. Relief hits Calico in the chest, but curiosity quickly follows like an itch. 

She sighs. Whatever they're doing has nothing to do with her. Still, she watches them with veiled interest. Part of her feels weird spying on a bunch of strangers. But this is her new home, and if anyone encroaches on her turf or threatens her safety she needs to be prepared. 

None of them appear older than she is, but that's just judging by their height and stature.  _Kids probably_, she decides. Her own 17th birthday came during the earlier months of the year, which means her 18th will be approaching soon. She'll be an adult, despite never really having had the chance to be a kid, not the way most have. Not that she can remember, in any case. 

"No!" The curly-haired boy shouts, his voice drifting as his voice raises. "No one is around, Lucas. Why do you think I'm with Steve Harrington?" He gestures to the older boy picking up what looks like a detached car door before hauling it over to the bus. 

"Something's wrong," the other boy, Lucas, says gravely. 

"I agree."

"Which is why we need as much help as we can get. She didn't believe me anyway."

Calico looks at the red-haired kid tugging at a massive wheel lying propped against a cinder-block just a few feet from her truck. The thing is nearly as tall as she is, it isn't likely she'll be able move it on her own. After a couple unsuccessful tugs she kicks at the rubber and gives up, turning instead to pick up a bent sheet of metal. 

"You probably didn't tell it right," she catches the curly-haired kid say. 

"That must be it."

"So, we good?"

The redhead is back to attempting to move the tire. Whatever it is these kids are up to, it appears important enough to require the help of someone quite a bit older than them. Maybe something is wrong? If they were merely playing around, surely it wouldn't demand this level of harried movement. 

No one seems to be joining the redhead to help any time soon. She's still struggling with the mass of rubber, barely inching it off the ground to shift it off of the cinder-block. She'll end up hurting herself if she keeps that up. Calico can discern her strained grimace from where she stands peering out the window. If she decides to help, what are the chances of these kids knowing who she is? It's pretty high, she guesses, but it isn't as if every single person in Hawkins cares about her or her notoriety. She's just another kid in town. A homeless, loner, kid. 

When the redhead braces herself once more, Calico slips out of the truck and makes her way towards the girl. Calico zips up her oversized jean jacket and pulls a pair of fingerless gloves from the pocket before slipping them on. She stops on the other side of the tire, determining how best to move it. Upon noticing she isn't alone, the girl ceases all movement and looks at Calico. Confusion pinches her fair face, the freckles clustered there scrunching together. 

"Need some help?" Calico asks uncertainly. 

"Uh..." The redhead glances uncertainly over at the others near the bus, then back at her, before her gaze falls to the stubborn tire. "Yeah." 

Calico nods once before stepping forward and bracing her hands on the tire. "You push, I'll pull. If we can get it to sit upright we can just roll it." 

"Okay." The girl squats down to ready her hands. "I'm Max, by the way. Who are you?" She says that last in a way that indicates she's still confused about where exactly she came from. 

She hesitates for a couple heartbeats before replying, "You can call me Calico." 

Max must not recognize the name because she only nods. "Cool." 

Calico breaths a small sigh of relief. "On three. One. Two. Three." They both brace themselves, lifting and pulling respectively. It takes a lot more strength than Calico first thought it would, but they manage to get the tire into an upright position all the same. "What are you doing with all of this stuff anyway?" She keeps a hand on the tire to keep it steady and ensure it doesn't fall on top of either of them. 

"Oh, uh..." Max looks over her shoulder at the boys bickering by the bus. "We're just messing around, building a fort." 

She follows her gaze. "Looks they take it a little more seriously than that." 

Max shrugs, adjusting her hands on the tire. "Let's get it over there." 

Calico steadies the tire with one hand while the other helps guide it in the direction of the dilapidated bus. Max rolls it into motion, keeping a stable speed. 

"Hey! Dickheads!" The older boy—Steve, the curly boy called him—shouts. He comes around from the other side of the bus with a sheet of metal beneath his arm. Calico and Max place the tire near the door of the bus. "How come the only one helping me out is this random girl?" When Calico steps out from behind the wheel, Steve does a double take, his eyebrows pinching. "Uh, random  girls." He emphasizes the 's'. "We lose light in 40 minutes. Let's go." When the two younger boys make no move, he waves his arms impatiently. "Let's go, I said!"

"All right, asshole!" The curly-haired kid yells. "God!"

The other kid glares at Steve. "Okay! Stupid." 

Both boys turn to get to work, but the moment they lay eyes on Calico standing next to Max, they both freeze. 

"Who the hell is this?" The curly-haired boy demands with an exasperated fling of his hand in her general direction. 

"Her name's Calico," Max answers, crossing her arms. "She helped me get this huge thing over here since none of you bothered to." She taps the tire with her foot. 

Both young boys look at each other for a long moment, and Calico worries her being here among them might not be welcomed. 

"Holy shit!" The curly-haired boy exclaims, a grin pulling at his cheeks. 

"Wait, wait, Dustin," Lucas says, speaking to his friend but keeping his eyes on Calico. "This is the famous and legendary homeless girl? The one who found—"

"Uh-huh." Dustin's smile never wavers. He steps towards Calico with his hand held out. "Wow, it's great to meet you in the flesh. I'm a big fan of your...you." 

She blinks at him, but she can't help the small smile that cracks at his enthusiasm as she awkwardly shakes his hand. There's still some uncertainty as to why people see her as some celebrity when she's nothing more than a kid who fell into some bad circumstances and tried to make the most of it. 

"Wait, what?" Max looks back and forth between them. "Homeless? Legendary?" 

"_And _ famous," Lucas corrects. 

"Why's she legendary _and_ famous?" She repeats the same way the boy said it. 

Both boys shrug. 

Max looks at Calico. "So a lot of people know who you are?" 

"I guess so." She wouldn’t go as far as to say famous or legendary though.

Dustin explains, "She's a local legend without all of the occult crap." 

"Just goes to show how boring this town is if one random homeless girl has celebrity status." Max soothes the jab with, "No offense."

Calico honestly can't even object to that. She’s right, after all. 

"What the hell are you guys doing? Didn't I say there's only—" Steve appears again, approaching from around the bend of the bus. He stops speaking when he sees everyone standing near each other. If they were a little taller Calico would be concealed. As it is, Steve is able to see her clearly over their heads. Calico watches as he takes her in, and seems to stiffen while a weird look crosses his face. Almost like he's in pain, but closer to as if he's startled by something; like he's been brushed by a live wire. 

"We're going, we're going," Dustin assures him. "Calico is gonna help us out." 

Steve swallows hard enough for his Adam's apple to jump. "Is that such a good idea? Not that we couldn't use her help, just—the, uh, you know. Can we just tell anyone about it?" Well now Calico is even more curious about the purpose of their endeavor to reinforce the bus. Because it certainly isn’t looking like a fort like Max suggested it was. 

Lucas and Dustin exchange a look before Dustin shrugs. "Probably, definitely, should not do that. But she probably lives around here, dude. If they show up, she's going to see anyway." 

"And that would put her in even more danger, wouldn't it?" This comes from Max, still planted at Calico's side. "Ignorance isn't always bliss and all that." 

Steve looks at Calico again, and something changes in his expression, both softening and becoming resolved at the same time. "Alright. But we're all going to have our asses chewed off if we don't hurry up and finish this." 

"Roger that!" Lucas sends Steve a mock salute before he and Dustin scramble to gather more junk metal to cover the bus with. 

Calico looks at Max and cracks a smile, intrigued to discover just what their goal is here. And her best bet at finding out at this point is to help. "Guess we better get to it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have most of this story already written. I realized about halfway through writing it that I’m likely gonna end up creating a second part to coincide with season 3. I’m still deciding whether or not to bump up the rating in this part or the next as the story grows more explicit, but seeing as this story is probably going to be at least 15 chapters long, we just might be seeing it go up sooner than later.


	2. Chapter 2

They all finish reinforcing the bus just barely in time when the sun sinks behind the horizon, painting the junkyard in dark shades of blue and purple. Calico quietly sits inside with the others, listening attentively to their idle conversations as they wait... for something. Pretty ominous and only a little suspicious. They are kids, after all.

Lucas has used the ladder wedged in the middle of the aisle to climb onto the roof through the emergency exit on the ceiling of the bus.  Steve and Dustin sit at the very back, flashlights in hand while speaking lowly to each other. Max moves to her knees in the seat in front of Calico and looks at them all.

"So you really fought one of these things before?" Max asks, addressing the boys. "And you're, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn't a bear?" Calico still isn't sure what this whole deal is with the bus and hiding out in it after dark, but she's worried if she asks too many questions they'll kick her out. Maybe that would be for the best, but this is the first time in a long time that she's been around people treating her like a normal person and not a charity case or ghost story. 

"Shit." Dustin shakes his head. "Don't be an idiot. Okay? It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home." From the corner of her eye, Calico catches Steve give the younger boy a thumbs up. She frowns, confused. He’s enabling this behavior? 

"Geesh. Someone's past their bedtime." Max glances at Calico. "I'll be right back." She gets up and climbs the ladder onto the roof where Lucas is watching for...whatever it is they're here for. 

"That's good," Steve whispers encouragingly. "Just show her you don't care." 

"I don't,” Dustin scoffs. He scowls at the older boy. "Why are you winking? Steve, stop." 

Calico twists in her seat so she's sitting sideways, one leg tucked beneath the other. She rests her arm along the back and lays her head in her palm, watching the two boys. 

The moment they notice her attention on them, they try to separate despite there not being much room to do so. 

"Do you like her?" She asks a little too bluntly, gesturing to the roof hatch before laying her eyes on Dustin. “Because that is a weird way of showing it.” 

His eyes widen and he immediately tries to refute her prediction. "Who— _ what__?_ Like her, you mean Max?" He sends Steve a desperate look that goes ignored. "No way. No." 

Calico hums, sliding her gaze to Steve. He's already watching her, but she can't read the look on his face. It isn't exactly as if she's had a lot of experience interacting with others. But if she had to make a guess, she'd pick a mixture of curiosity and something like reverence. He almost looks pained again, but in a good way. Bittersweet. It's a word she read once in a magazine she'd found. Steve looks like he's feeling something bittersweet. 

Somehow Calico feels both flattered and insecure with the attention. It's one thing for people to know of her, it's another entirely when she's acknowledged so plainly and openly by someone so close. 

Dustin shouts above. "Lucas, what's going on?" 

"Hold on!" He yells back down, sounding alarmed. "I've got eyes! Ten o' clock! Ten o' clock!  _ There _ ." 

Dustin and Steve scramble to the door and peer out. 

"What's he doing?" 

"I don't know." 

Calico rises from her seat and looks out a window. She can't see anything but junk. 

"You sure that's not a dog?" Steve asks. 

"What? He's not taking the bait, why isn't he taking the bait?" 

"Maybe he's not hungry. Maybe he's sick of cow." 

Cow? Are they trying to capture something using meat as a lure? An animal? 

"Steve? Steve, what are you doing? Steve?" Dustin's voice rises a few pitches in worry. 

Steve picks up a baseball bat studded with long nails. Clearly it's meant to be a weapon. But for what? "Just get ready." He opens the door and steps out as Lucas and Max clamor down from the roof. 

"What's he doing?" Lucas asks, staring at Steve. 

"Expanding the menu." 

"He's insane," Max declares. 

Dustin grins with a shake of his curly-haired head. "He's awesome." 

Fog has rolled in with the night, coating the ground in white wisps. It isn't the first time it's happened, but Calico finds it ominous and creepy considering the tense situation. Whatever is out there, the kids find it dangerous, and she wonders if Steve isn't a little crazy for going outside alone. 

A howl breaks through the dark, sounding like nothing Calico has ever heard in her life. Goosebumps break out along her skin, and she cringes. “What was that...?” 

Dustin curses. 

Something moves in the dark. A shadow detaches from the blackness and leaps onto the gutted remains of a car. Calico isn't sure what she's seeing. It has four legs, and it's big, even if it were a dog it would be considered big. But the head...it's wrong. Shaped like a flower bud. It can’t be normal for something to look like that. 

"What the hell is that?" She asks quietly, eyes flickering to Steve walking slowly in its direction.  _He shouldn't go towards the damn thing_, she thinks furiously. Her hands are white-knuckled on the back of the seat as she watches him hold the bat up, prepared to swing at any threat that comes close enough. 

"Steve, watch out!" Dustin warns, leaning out the door. 

"A little busy here!" Is his rushed reply. She can tell he's scared. Who wouldn't be in such a bizarre situation? 

From the corner of her eye, another monster climbs up and over a car, on Steve's other side. If they both decide to attack, Calico isn't sure he'll be able to take them both. 

"Three o' clock! Three o' clock! Steve! Steve! Abort! Abort!" 

One of the creatures takes the chance to lunge at him, and he dives out of the way, rolling over the hood of a car. The creature crashes through the front and slides past the broken window. 

Another one appears straight ahead, walking with the swagger of a wild predator. Steve is going to be corralled right back to the bus at this rate; that is, if they don't rush him first. 

Calico will look back on this moment in the future and still won't be able to articulate the feeling in her chest that urges her to do what she does now. 

She shoves past the others to get out the door and lands on the ground already in motion. A long and sharp piece of a pipe that fits in one hand finds its way into her grasp from the ground as she scoops it up. She wields it in her right hand while her left stretches out, prepared to grab Steve. 

Max and Dustin and Lucas are all yelling frantically behind her, but she can't decipher what they're saying, it all melds together. Blood pumps through her veins furiously, creating a rushing noise in her head. 

There's five of the creatures now, surrounding Steve and getting closer in a slow predatory dance. One that ends with him very hurt. Or worse. 

The creature nearest to him gets the bat swung at it, nearly nicking its malformed head. In moving his attention to only one, the others take the chance to prowl closer. Another one opens its mouth—at least, that's what Calico thinks it is. It spreads like an opening flower, but this flower has hundreds of razor-like teeth crowding the inside, dripping with saliva. It looks about ready to pounce, and something inside Calico explodes. 

"Steve!" Calico screams, voice cracking. 

The monster moves in a burst of speed at the same moment Calico reaches him. Her hand closes around his arm and hauls him back, leaving behind empty air for the creature to jump through. Steve nearly loses his balance, but he stays on his feet as Calico pulls him back to the bus. She holds the pipe in front of her, pointed end directed at the monsters while running backwards. Steve is moving on his own now, and his hand slides into the one she had tightened at his arm. 

"Oh my god, hurry!" Dustin yells, panicked. 

A collection of skin-crawling howls break through the night when Calico and Steve launch themselves into the bus. The door is shoved closed, and not a second later something makes impact, causing the bus to rock slightly. 

"Are they rabid or something?" Max asks, panting with adrenaline from what she’s just seen. 

"Shit!"

Lucas has a walkie-talkie in his hand, and he's shouting into it. "Is anyone there?! Mike? Will?  _God_, anyone?!" 

"Shit, we're at the old junkyard, and we're gonna die!" 

More howls from outside. Then everything goes quiet. A slight ringing is left behind in Calico’s ears at the abruptness of it. 

Max peeks out the window. "They're leaving." 

"What? What happened?" Lucas asks. 

"I don't know." 

The kids turn to look at Calico and Steve lying on the floor, trying to catch their breath. 

"Steve and Calico scared them off?" Dustin asks. 

"No," Steve says, shaking his head. "No way. They're going somewhere." He sits up, and Calico does the same. She's practically on top of him, her entire torso and one leg lying across his body, and the moment she realizes this she quickly (and carefully) scoots off and stands up, cheeks burning. Steve doesn't say anything about the compromising position they fell into—thankfully neither do the kids—and he gets to his feet too. 

"What were those things?" She takes the chance to ask, brushing dirt off of her jacket and pants. Her voice sounds calmer than she feels; blood is pumping through her heart quite fast, and her hands are trembling slightly. 

Dustin sighs, resigned to the fact that she's involved now. "It's hard to explain—" 

"It's a monster from another dimension," Lucas offers, as if it's the easiest thing to understand. 

Calico's face screws up in bewilderment. "That... sort of thing actually exists? Different dimensions?" During a few of her frequent visits to the library, Calico has taken interest in several books of the otherworldly and supernatural. But it's been merely that, an innocent interest that's simply fun to read about. Fiction. “Are you sure?” 

"Yeah," Dustin says with an exaggerated nod of his head, "it's not just a good plot for sci-fi movies. It's real." 

"So, what do we do now?" This from Max, who looks quite shaken herself. Interestingly, Calico notices her freckles stand out more on her fair skin. She herself possesses a skin tone closer to Lucas's, but there are some areas she's noticed over the years that are a lighter color much like Max's. Vitiligo, she learned it's called, courtesy of a book from the library. 

"We can't just let those things run around, can we?" Calico asks. Not that she has any clue how to deal with such creatures. 

Steve retrieves his bat from where it rolled beneath a seat with one hand while the other pushes back through his hair. Calico finds the motion enthralling, her eyes tracking the way his long fingers sweep through the thick strands. "No, we can't." He pushes open the door and jumps out. Lucas, Max, and Dustin follow. Calico steps out last, though not before picking up the pipe she lost grip of. If they happen to run into those things again, having a weapon with her isn't such a bad idea. 

Outside, Steve is standing by the door. When she shuts the door behind her, he speaks. "You sure you wanna come along? It might get messy." 

Calico looks at him, loosely gripping the pipe in both hands at her waist. She starts to say, "Of course," but hesitates. His bright brown eyes have gone all strange again; that tenderness she can't understand tainted with something unguarded and yearning. Somehow he looks how a bruise sometimes feels, aching and sensitive. "I want to help you," she murmurs. His lips part in a display of perplexity, and she rushes to add, "All of you. If I can." 

Steve nods slowly, taking her in. Again, she has the impression that he's seeing something that she can't. Calico has the abrupt urge to fuss with her hair as she wonders if there's something wrong with it, or maybe something else. A finger catches on a ringlet while she adjusts the collar of her jacket. When she last saw herself in a mirror, she can't recall anything having been amiss.  Wild curls froth around her round face, kept at a length a little above her shoulders solely because she finds her hair much easier to maintain when short. She can faintly recall a time like an impression of a dream when silk ribbons and bows were clipped and tied into her curls, once long and fresh and glossy. Now she cleans her hair only when she's able to sneak into the local pool, gym, or school to shower. 

"Steve! They went this way!" Dustin calls out, finger pointing towards the crowded thicket of trees behind them that lead to the woods. 

"Well let's get to it then." Steve gives Calico a small smile, one that gives her heart an odd nudge, before approaching the kids standing together ahead. 

Calico is quick to follow, catching up with their pace as they head straight for the woods. She will admit, going in does unnerve her. What if those monsters are waiting for them? 

Steve pulls out his flashlight and leads the group through the trees. 

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asks. 

Dustin nods, appearing exasperated. "Yes. He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt." 

"He was tiny two days ago." 

"Well, he's molted three times already." He pauses, tilts his head. "Malted?" He guesses at the correct word tense. "Molted," he tries again. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms." 

"When's he gonna molt again?" Steve asks. 

"It's gotta be soon," Dustin says. "And when he does, he'll be fully grown. Or close to it." 

"And so will his friends," Calico adds. All o f the creatures appeared to be roughly the same size, which means they all are likely growing at similar rates. But just how big are they going to get? 

Steve nods. "Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats." 

"Wait, a cat?" Max questions, slightly horrified. 

"Dart ate a cat?" Lucas asks. 

Dustin frowns, glancing at them both. "No, what? No." 

Max rolls her eyes. "What are you talking about then?" 

"He ate Mews," Steve responds, sweeping the flashlight back and forth as they navigate amongst the trees. In the dark they appear so much more eerie and imposing, throwing long and thick shadows, looming high into the dark sky. 

"Mews? Who's Mews?" 

"It's Dustin's cat." 

Dustin whips his head and looks accusingly at Steve. "Dude!" 

"I knew it!" Lucas exclaims. "You kept him!" 

"No! No. I—no. He missed me," Dustin attempts to explain. "He wanted to come home." 

"Bullshit!" Lucas dismisses. 

"I didn't know he was a Demogorgon, okay?" Calico has no idea what that might be, and she feels too wary to ask in the midst of their argument. 

"Oh, so now you admit it?" 

"Guys, who cares, we have to go!" Max says, looking from both of them to Calico and Steve. Everyone has slowed down on account of the two young boys' escalating disagreement. 

"I care!" Lucas barks. "You put the whole party in jeopardy. You broke the rule of law." 

Dustin scowls, snapping, "So did you!" 

Lucas recoils. "What?" 

He briefly shines his light into Max's face, and she winces as she leans away from the bright onslaught. "You told a stranger the truth!"

"Stranger?" Max scoffs. 

Lucas glances at Max who stands with her arms crossed defiantly. "You wanted to tell her too!" 

Calico suddenly feels uncomfortable witnessing this argument. If everyone is being honest, she doesn't exactly belong there either. Really, she knows less about this whole situation than Max, and the redhead is the one getting the heat for it. 

A hand lightly taps against hers, and she looks up at Steve standing beside her. "Don't worry about them," he insists, voice low enough for only her to hear. "They have some stuff to work out. Besides, you're taking this all really well." 

She releases a soft sigh. "I'm honestly still absorbing it." Her hands twist the pipe back and forth between her palms. "Part of me doesn't even want to believe it and wants to just rationalize it somehow." 

"I get it. When I first saw one last year it was fully grown and even uglier if you can believe it." He cracks a smile, and it soothes her a bit. "Sometimes when I remember, my brain tries to tell me it was all something else, something that makes more sense than what it actually was." He glances at the bickering boys. "I'd hoped to just let my brain reconstruct the memory so it could fade away like any other. But then—" he gestures around with his bat. 

Calico feels for him, wishes he didn't have to go through whatever mess this is that they're in, same for all of the kids, but she fixates on the fact that apparently something like this has happened before. 

A screeching howl breaks through the night, abrupt and grating, and Calico flinches, looking in the direction it came from. Everyone goes still and silent. She and Steve glance at each other before they're moving. She can hear the kids behind them, keeping up with the beam of Steve's flashlight. 

"Hey guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" Dustin asks dubiously. "Hello?" 

Everyone runs until they reach a break in the trees. Steve and Calico stop at the edge of the woods, the kids spreading out beside them. 

A span of grassy land below cradles the town, speckles of light glowing in the distance. Fog layers areas, floating over the land like giant idle ghosts. 

"It's the lab," Lucas states, looking through his binoculars. "They were going home." 


	3. Chapter 3

Dustin squints at the building, large and silent with inactivity as they begin to approach it. "Why are the lights off?"

"Maybe it's closed?" Max suggests. 

"Security took the night off?" Steve says, unconvinced. "I don't think so." 

Ahead, Calico notices movement beyond where the trees are sparse just over the crest of the hill, but before she can determine what it's from, or even panic at the possibility of it being those creatures, she hears voices. 

"Hello? Who's there?" A voice demands. Calico sees silhouettes moving cautiously closer, then they stop as they breach the top of the hill. "Steve?" Two voices ask at once. 

The light moves away from their faces, revealing two people, a boy and a girl appearing to be Calico and Steve’s age. 

"Nancy?" Steve asks, sounding baffled. He looks to the other boy as Dustin says, "Jonathan." 

The girl, Nancy, steps forward. "What are you doing here?" She's a small girl, Calico notices. If her face didn't appear so matured she would have guessed she's closer to Max's age. Calico takes a glimpse at Steve, and something she can’t name detaches in her chest and drops into her stomach; his eyes, they seem sad, but also relieved, almost hopeful. She looks away, swallowing at the unfamiliar and uncomfortable sensation. 

"What are  _you_ doing here?" Steve answers. 

"We're looking for Will and Mike," Jonathan says. 

Steve looks past them towards the sleeping building. "They're not in there are they?" 

"We're not sure," Nancy says. 

There's another screech, and everyone looks at the lab building sitting cold and silent like a stone giant. 

Calico speaks up, eyeing the darkened windows. She can't imagine people being inside, especially with those things apparently gathering there, but if there are, they're in danger. "Maybe we should go check if they're inside?" Everyone looks at her, and the attention is a little stifling, but she manages to continue, "If those creatures are returning there, wouldn't that make it harder for your friends to get out? Maybe they need our help?" 

"Who's this?" Nancy asks, curiously looking at Calico. 

"Our local legend, Calico," Dustin speaks up, his tone matter-of-fact. 

Both Nancy and Jonathan's brows shoot up. "Really? You're her?" 

"All these years and this is the first time I've seen her." 

Calico merely offers a small shy smile, uncertain of what else to do. 

"We'll have more formal introductions later," Steve says, having picked up on her slight discomfort. "Let's head over and see what we find." He points with his bat towards the building ahead. 

Everyone silently agrees, and they all move together, hurrying to the booth situated beside a parked car. The gate that the booth controls is shut and locked, having been powered by electricity which, judging by the complete and total darkness inside the lab, isn’t reaching this area at the moment. 

Jonathan is the first to reach the booth, and he wastes no time pressing at every button he finds that might open the gate. 

Calico stands outside with the others, keeping an eye out for any sign of the monsters—Demogorgons, Dustin had called them. 

Dustin steps into the booth with Jonathan when he appears to have no luck. "Let me try—hang on— Let me try Jonathan!" The older boy steps away and Dustin does the same thing he was doing, pressing insistently at the buttons. "Son of a bitch! You know what?" 

Calico crouches down against the side of the booth, knees tucked towards her chest. She flinches when the gate slides open. 

Dustin lets out an exuberant, "Aha!" 

"You doing alright?" Steve asks, peering at her from where he stands propped against a metal yellow stump posted beside the booth. 

She lifts her head, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. "How did those things even get here?" It comes out as a whisper, and she doesn't know why. 

Steve doesn't answer right away, and she wonders if that means he doesn't know either. "An accident, I think. That started here at this lab."

"Something accidentally ripped a hole between two different dimensions?" It all seems so unreal, only something she'd read about in a novel or see on one of the TVs in the video rental shop. Truth is stranger than fiction, she recalls hearing somewhere. 

"I don't have all the details. I just know that whatever comes out of it is bad." He swings his bat back and forth lightly. "One of them killed Nancy's best friend." 

Calico's eyes widen in horror, drawn to the petite brunette getting into the car with Jonathan. "Does everyone know about these things?" 

He shakes his head and turns to face her directly when the car drives through the gate. "No, and you can't tell anyone. It's technically classified." 

Her mouth drops slightly. "Doesn't that mean you could go to prison for—?"

"Yeah." Steve swallows. "But this is too big now, and you're already involved." A frown pulls his brows together. "Why did you decide to help anyway?" 

Sheepishly, Calico looks at the pipe lying at her feet before she shrugs. "I didn't know what was going on. I saw Max having trouble moving stuff and felt like I should help. She said you all were building a fort." She releases a huff of laughter. 

"You seem like a sweet girl. I hope getting swept up in all this doesn't get you hurt." He doesn't say it as a threat or even a warning in spite of the softness of his tone, just mere concern, a simple fact. 

Calico returns her gaze to his and sees he's being genuine. A smile cracks at her lips. "Steve, I live on the streets. I know how to take care of myself." She winks at him for good measure. 

He returns a smile of his own, teeth straight and white, and Calico decides she likes his smile very much. "Yeah, I know you can." 

"Guys?" Max's concerned voice draws everyone's attention. She stares at the gate, or more accurately, what's approaching from the other side. 

Two sets of headlights peel out into the street, speeding towards them. The kids in the street scatter to the side and out of the way. The first car is Jonathan's and it drives right though, continuing down the road. It’s followed by a truck belonging to the Hawkins Police Department. It screeches to a stop in front of them and none other than the Hawkins police chief, Jim Hopper, leans out, waving an arm. 

"Let's go." 

Calico pushes to her feet and looks at Steve. He holds a hand out to her, and, with little other choice, she takes it. Steve makes sure all of the kids are inside before he slides into the front and pulls Calico into his lap. At first she resists, suddenly uncertain, but at the urgency that widens his brown eyes, she allows herself to be guided to sit on his thighs. Steve slaps the side of the truck through the open window, and they're moving, gaining speed and distance from the lab and the horrors that lie trapped within. 


	4. Chapter 4

The ride is a whirlwind of uproarious shouting. Questions are thrown about like live grenades and not enough of them are answered before exploding into a volley of fresh commotion. The more riled the kids become the less composure they bother to maintain, and the interior of the truck edges towards utter chaos. 

At one point, Dustin leans just a little too far forward out of his seat and falls between the front seats. The only thing that keeps him from face-planting into the dashboard and sprawling across Calico's legs is Steve's hand grabbing his shirt and shoving him back. 

"Dammit—calm  _down_!" 

"Sit the hell down, or do I have to pull over?" Chief Hopper warns, throwing a look at the kids that shows he's both irritated and anxious, and their antics aren't helping. 

"Can this thing go any faster?" Dustin demands, hands gripping the back of the seats until his fingers indent the material. 

Hopper glares at the boy until he backs down, muttering, "Okay, okay. I'm shutting up." 

Calico is feeling rather tense herself, and not just because of the kids' agitation or the recent events that led them here. She sits in Steve's lap, as still as she can manage, legs crowded against his while her back presses to the window. With nowhere else to place his arms, Steve has one wound securely around her waist and the other resting across her thighs. Calico won't lie, she hasn't been this physically close to someone for a very long time, and if the situation were different, she may be able to appreciate it more. As it is, her position isn't the most comfortable, but considering the circumstances, she appreciates that she was allowed to come along, for whatever it may cost her. 

"You okay?"  Steve's quiet voice sends warm air against her neck, and she has to crane hers back to see him properly. She hums an affirmative, but he doesn't appear to entirely believe it, his eyes softening until he resembles a puppy she saw once. Calico looks away from those eyes, afraid she'll somehow stare too long from far too small a distance. Well, if she's being entirely honest, it isn't just Steve's earnest eyes that are distracting... But she won't allow herself to look anywhere else on his face in worry he'll say something about it. Being embarrassed on top of anxious isn't a concoction of emotions she needs right now. 

"Hey, it's okay to be nervous, about all of this. God knows I am." 

Calico lightly nods, offering a smile that she knows isn't entirely convincing. 

Steve's hand adjusts on her waist until his fingers splay from the bottom of her ribcage to the softness of her stomach. She squirms a little in his lap at the slight tickle the press of his fingers cause, only to freeze when he releases a small grunt. Did she hurt him? She knows guys are particularly sensitive around their groin area, and she was strongly hoping nothing like this would occur. 

"Sorry," she squeaks, drawing the attention of the kids back to the front. 

"Don't worry about it." Steve laughs softly at her unnecessary distress. "I'm alright." 

Max leans forward a little just enough for Calico to see wisps of dark red waves in the dim lighting. "You don't look very comfortable." She looks at them both. 

"I'm fine," Calico assures her at the same moment Steve says, "I'm perfectly comfortable." His arm winds more tightly around her. 

The younger girl smirks knowingly. "Uh huh." She disappears back into her seat, and mere seconds later Calico catches hisses of laughter and murmurs too quiet for her to make out as words. 

"Ah, kids. Am I right?" Steve rolls his eyes, but Calico notices the tiny fond smile at the corner of his lips. She doesn't know how long he's known these kids, but he seems to care about them. Enough to stand by them through this mess. It's a dynamic that is new to Calico, and if she's honest with herself, it makes her a little jealous. After being on her own for so long, seeing this ragtag group of people work together and fight for one another is what makes her feel something a lot like belonging. 

*******

_ The Byers home is very nice_ , Calico thinks upon entering. She wasn't sure she should at first, she's a stranger. If it weren't for Steve's reassuring hand at the base of her spine and Dustin's insistent "come on, come on!" she likely would have remained out on the porch and risked the late night cold. 

The colors are warm and quaint, the sort of place one might curl up and sleep easily. It's a family home, lived in and welcoming. Despite this, however, the atmosphere is bleak. Calico stands in an area she'll be out of the way, and the only place she can do that inside is beside the window and couch next to the door. 

There's a very...peculiar piece of art that spans a great deal of the house; sheets of paper taped together all along the walls and across the floor connect into some kind of network like roots deep within the earth. Calico's eyes follow the various routes of the piece until they fall upon Jonathan kneeling beside the couch. His head is bowed toward the young boy in a hospital gown lying unconscious on the cushions, whispering to him. The boy is his little brother, Will Byers. The Boy Who Came Back To Life. The very one whose fake body Calico had discovered a year ago. He's sick. His body has been...possessed, for lack of a better word. Calico caught the word 'virus', and figures that would be a far better explanation, if not for the strange things going on. This virus apparently came from the other dimension that she had been told about. Whatever happened to Will last year, he never recovered entirely. 

He's one reason why Chief Hopper and Will's mother, Joyce, along with Jonathan and Nancy, were in such a rush to leave the lab. His condition has apparently gotten worse. It's why he isn't awake; they've had to put him to sleep to keep whatever it is inside of him subdued. 

Nancy approaches Jonathan and places a placating hand on his shoulder. Feeling suddenly weird, as if she's witnessing something private, Calico steps away from her little nook and moves further into the room. Steve catches her eye from where he watches Nancy and Jonathan. He tilts his head as an indication for her to follow him, and she does, carefully stepping around the paper and treading gently where she has no choice but to walk over it. 

The two pass Chief Hopper who is yelling on the phone, trying to reason with someone on the other side. He sounds very frustrated and weary. Calico can't even begin imagine what everyone in this house has been through, and she feels guilty for not knowing more and being able to be of more use. 

Steve leads Calico into the kitchen where Dustin, Lucas, Max, and their friend Mike sit around the dining table. She stands at the sink beside him, watching as he looks out the window with that look again, the one bordering pain and thoughtfulness. 

She wants to ask if he's okay, the way he has to her several times, but it won't come out. Calico suspects that something about Nancy and Jonathan makes him feel this way, since he had the same look when he saw them when emerging from the woods near the lab. 

Calico shifts to turn and her knuckles accidentally skim across the back of his hand, barely even a brush of contact. Her instinct is to pull away, but when Steve wordlessly reaches out with his long fingers and winds them around her smaller pinky and ring finger, she chooses not to. It's not too bad, she decides. It's much more tame than sitting on his lap, that's for sure. But then, she didn't mind that very much either. 

"They didn't believe you, did they?" Dustin asks Hopper as the Chief places the phone back into its cradle, sounding entirely unsurprised. 

"We'll see." 

"'We'll see?'" Mike repeats dubiously. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

"We'll stay here, and we'll wait for help." Chief Hopper must expect for the argument to end there before it even begins, and he leaves the kitchen. 

Mike stares after him even when he's no longer visible through the doorway. A very unsatisfied expression crosses his face before it falls and settles into something more forlorn. Calico watches as he stands and walks into the living room, picking up a toy of some kind, a cube with several parts that make up the whole. 

"Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" 

Steve turns to look at him along with Calico and the other kids. He leans back against the counter, his fingers still linked with hers. 

Mike turns to face everyone, going on saying, "He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fund-raiser for equipment." He returns to stand by his friends. "Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?" He places the cube on the table. 

Both Dustin and Lucas reply at the same time, "Yeah." 

"We can't let him die in vain." 

Calico glances up at Steve, her eyes suddenly wide. How many people have lost their lives during this entire incident? He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't need to. The silence is enough. 

Dustin slaps his hands on the table. "What do you want us to do, Mike? The chief's right on this. We can't stop those demo-dogs on our own." 

"Demo-dogs?" Max repeats, eyebrow arched. 

"Demogorgon dogs." He clasps his hands as if to morph something together. "Demo-dogs. It's like a compound. It's like a play on words—" 

Max stares at him, looking like she wasn't exactly expecting such a long-winded explanation. "Okay." 

"I mean, if it was just Dart, maybe..." 

"But there's an army now," Lucas finishes. 

"Precisely." 

Mike mutters, "His army." 

An army? Just how many of those creatures have gotten through from their dimension? And what's their motive? If the tear between this dimension and theirs was an accident then why are they so eager to do harm? 

Calico wonders if Steve knows much more than she does because he's remained quiet, appearing to try and work things out in his head, until Mike said that last bit. "What do you mean?" 

Mike seems to realize something. "His army. Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army too." 

"Who is  _he_?" Calico takes the opportunity to speak up. 

Mike leaves the room again for a moment to retrieve a piece of paper. It's a drawing, Calico notes, but not like the ones spread around the house. It's of some entity, enormous and black like an inky mass with limbs. A living nightmare. That is what is causing all of this? 

Dustin leans forward to look at the picture, nodding in sudden comprehension. "The shadow monster." 

"It got Will that day in the field,” Mike says. “The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him."

Max slowly nods, piecing something together. "And so this virus, it's connecting him to the tunnels?" 

"Tunnels?" Calico repeats to herself, ever more confused. 

"I know little more than you do," Steve admits to her. 

"To the tunnels, monsters, the Upside-Down, everything." 

"Whoa, slow down, slow down." Steve steps toward the table, releasing Calico's hand. 

Mike starts to lay it out more clearly, "Okay, so the shadow monster is inside of everything. And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will." 

"And so does Dart," Lucas says. 

"Yeah, like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind." 

"Hive mind?" Steve repeats, expecting some elaboration. 

"A collective consciousness," Dustin explains. "A super-organism." 

"And this is the thing that controls everything." Mike points at the drawing. "It's the brain." 

Dustin's eyes grow wide with realization. "Like the mind flayer." 

Lucas and Mike look at him, evidently dawned with the same conclusion. 

"The what?" Max asks. 

"What?" Steve contributes his own confusion. 

Dustin twists and runs from the room for a full minute, appearing to look for something. Calico glances up at Steve who merely shrugs, apparently just as stumped as she is. When Dustin returns he has a book in his hands, already flipping through the pages. He stops when he’s found the right page and drops the book on the table. 

“The mind flayer.” His finger points to a drawing of some sort of alien or monster donning a robe. A list of words and numbers Calico doesn’t understand is next to the picture, making her wonder just what sort of book this is. Fiction definitely, but for what exactly? Descriptions of monsters? How will that help defeat a very real monster? 

“What the hell is that?” Chief Hopper walks back into the room, looking over Dustin’s shoulder at the book. 

Dustin begins to enthusiastically explain, “It’s a monster from an unknown dimension. It’s so ancient, it doesn’t even know it’s real home.” He glances at everyone. “Okay, it enslaves races from other dimensions by taking over their brains using its highly developed psionic powers.” 

Chief Hopper sighs. “Oh my God, none of this is real. This is a kids’ game.” 

“No, it’s a manual,” Dustin clarifies, appearing a little stung. “And it’s not for kids. And unless you know something that we don’t, this is the best metaphor—“ 

“Analogy,” Lucas corrects. 

Calico notices Nancy approach the table, looking back and forth between everyone while she catches up on what is going on. 

Dustin glares at his friend. “Analogy? That’s what you’re worried about? Fine! An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is.” Calico purses her lips slightly to avoid smiling in amusement at his passionate ranting. 

“Okay,” Nancy contributes, “so this mind flamer thing—“ 

“ _ Flayer. _ Mind flayer” 

She sighs exasperatedly as she leans forward to look at the book more closely, then at Dustin. “What does it want?” 

“To conquer us basically. It believes it’s the master race.” 

Steve perks up, offering, “Oh, uh, like the Germans.” 

Calico looks at him, brows lightly pinched together at his wording. “You mean...like the Nazis?” 

He looks at her, seems to think it through before realizing his mistake and nodding once ardently. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, like the Nazis.” 

Dustin returns his gaze to the book. “Uh... If the Nazis were from another dimension, then totally.” 

Chief Hopper frustratedly rubs a hand over his face. 

“It views other races, like us, as inferior to itself,” Dustin continues. 

Mike adds, “It wants to spread, take over other dimensions.” 

Lucas leans in. “We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it.” 

“That’s great.” Steve steps away from the table. “That’s great. That’s really great. Jesus!” He paces back into the kitchen. Calico keeps an eye on him, watching as he runs a hand through his hair. She still isn’t sure what to make of all this. These kids seem to know quite a lot about it, more so than anyone else. She can’t deny that it truly scares her, this talk about monsters from another dimension wanting to take over theirs by infecting their world and the people living in it. To be honest, she’s hoping it’s an over-exaggeration. But...she was there, in the junkyard. She saw those things, the Demo-dogs. Nothing about them was of this earth, or belonged on this plane of existence. So the question is now, how are they supposed to stop it? 

Nancy meets Calico’s eyes, drawing her from her thoughts before she picks up the book and says, “Okay, so if this thing is like a brain that controls everything, then if we kill it—“ 

“We kill everything it controls,” Mike finishes. 

Dustin looks at his friend. “We win.” 

“Theoretically,” Lucas mentions. 

Chief Hopper steps up beside Nancy and takes the book from her to look at it more closely himself. “Great. So how do you kill this thing? Shoot it with fireballs or something?” His sardonic tone is palpable. 

Dustin chuckles. “No, no. No fireballs.” He looks at the Chief. “Uh, you summon an undead army because...” he falters at the unimpressed look on Hopper’s face. “Because zombies, you know, they don’t have brains. And the mind flayer it... it likes brains...” He gives up and points at the book. “It’s just a game.” 

Chief Hopper slams the book closed and drops it onto the table. “What the hell are we doing here?” 

“I thought we were waiting for your military backup,” Dustin says, a little snide. 

The Chief spins around, defending, “We are!”

“Even if they come how are they gonna stop this? You can’t just shoot this with guns!” Mike makes a good point. A creature from another dimension may possess defenses against human weapons they’ve never seen before. 

“You don’t know that! We don’t know anything!” 

Uneasy with the fresh bout of arguments, Calico sidles further from the table and near Steve standing with his arms crossed by the kitchen counter while everyone goes back and forth about what they should or shouldn’t do, the precautions they should take or whether they’ll be useless. She doesn’t believe she knows enough to have a real opinion, she just wants the issue to be dealt with effectively so she can go back to her life. 

She looks at the young man next to her, takes in the lost expression on his face, the insecurity. Steve is out of his depth too, she realizes, and Calico doesn’t think it’s a normal occurrence for him. 

Slowly, as if she’s afraid he’ll yank away, Calico places her hand on his arm, squeezing gently at the tenseness there to draw his attention. He tears his eyes from the others surrounding the table and lowers his gaze to hers. Something unspeakable passes between them then. A silent connection that communicates their worries and eases their fear with certainty that they’re not alone in this. Despite meeting him only today, Calico feels a sense of comfort when he’s near, one that doesn’t come easy for someone like her who has been secluded from typical society for so long. 

“Are you doing okay?” She quietly recites the same words of support he offered her earlier. 

A small smile lifts at the corner of his lips. “Is anyone right now?” Calico doesn’t think he’s being literal, so she doesn’t answer the question. Of course no one is really okay right now. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. She just wanted to comfort him the way he does for her. Her eyes slide away sheepishly. 

“I think I will be okay though, eventually.” Steve nudges her gently with an elbow, drawing her gaze back to his. “Once this whole thing is figured out, I do think we’ll all be okay.” 

Calico wants so badly to believe him. But after what she’s seen today, what she’s learned, she isn’t sure it’s that simple. Living on her own hasn’t been as difficult as people might think. For the most part, she’s kept her distance from others for her own safety. Everyone knows  of her, but no one really  knows her. It’s an extra layer of protections she’s built, and it’s simply been easier to maintain it than to potentially have it destroyed by people who see her as little more than a cryptid. After everything that has happened today, after meeting these interesting people, Calico is both scared that things will go right back to the way they were, and that they won’t. Everyone else might be okay in the end, but she isn’t entirely certain that she will be. 


	5. Chapter 5

“We have to kill it.”

Joyce Byers enters the dining room, eyes sullen and weary. Calico feels a tugging ache in her chest for the mother of the unconscious young boy on the sofa.

“I _want_ to kill it.” Her voice cracks.

Chief Hopper turns to her. “Me too, Joyce. Me too, okay? But how do we do that? We don’t exactly know what we’re dealing with here.”

“No,” Mike says, walking into the living room. He stops beside Will. “But he does.” He looks to Joyce. “If anyone knows how to stop this thing, it’s Will. He’s connected to it.”

“That means he must know all its weaknesses,” Calico says, mostly to herself, but Mike must hear because he spins to look at her with some sort of surprise at how quickly she caught on, nodding once.

“Exactly.”

Max intervenes, “But I thought we couldn’t trust him anymore. That he’s a spy for the mind flayer now.”

“Yeah, but he can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is.”

*******

Calico walks out from the house and into the shed, stacks of newspaper and paper bags piled in her arms. She rests them on the floor and begins unfolding the paper to hand to Steve and Nancy to place on the walls and windows, one with a stapler and the other with a roll of duct tape to hold them up. The idea is to make the entire shed look unrecognizable to Will, and thus also to the mind flayer.

Steve staples a corner of a tarp at the window before stepping off of the stool he’s using to reach the top.

“Hey,” Nancy says, drawing his attention. When he looks at her she continues, “What you did, helping the kids... that was really cool.”

Calico picks up the tape and tears off a piece, putting up a leaf of newspaper on the other side of the shed. She’d leave to give them privacy but she thinks covering up the shed is priority right now. Besides, if she’s entirely honest, she wants to know what there is between Steve and Nancy. They appeared to tiptoe around one another the entire time in the house. It wasn’t tension, not really, it was more... wariness. They’re being careful around each other.

Steve replies, ”Yeah. Those shits are real trouble, you know.” He steps back up on the stool to staple another corner.

Nancy smiles fondly. “Believe me, I know.”

“I’m not the only one that was stuck with them though.”

Calico feels the peculiar weight of gazes on her back, and she pauses to glance over her shoulder, noticing they’re both looking at her. She looks from one to the other, and she shrugs. “It was a coincidence.”

Nancy’s eyebrows rise in amusement. “How?”

Not wanting to possibly reveal where she lives, she compromises with, “I was nearby when the Demo-dogs attacked.”

Nancy seems to accept that. “And you’re totally at ease knowing what is going on? Knowing that you’re involved now?”

Calico shrugs again. “Is anyone at ease in this situation?”

She nods in agreement. “It’s a real mess.”

Steve steps down from the stool and rests the stapler on its surface before he moves to Calico’s side to help tape up the newspaper.

“Calico saved my life.” Both girls balk at him. Steve cracks a smile. “Yeah, one of those bastards would have taken a bite right out of my ass if this one here hadn’t yanked me out of the way like some sort of real life Wonder Woman.” He looks down at the girl beside him, his smile softening.

She can’t help the warmth that blossoms beneath her cheeks, nor the tiny smile that follows. It wasn’t quite as bold and dynamic as he’s making it sound, but Calico figures if Steve wants to feed her ego a little it won’t hurt. She does wonder if it’s also to sate Nancy somehow though. Calico peeks a glimpse of the small girl watching them both closely while she fiddles with a roll of tape and rips a piece off.

“Thank God for Calico,” Nancy murmurs.

*******

From what Calico has gathered, the creature from the other dimension has infected Will, and in doing so, it has a connection in this dimension through him, thus being what makes Will a spy; anything he sees or hears is what the creature sees or hears. That’s why he’s been sedated and kept unconscious; why everyone is working together to transform the Byers shed into a room the boy won’t recognize. And, she’s got to say, it looks very different from when she first entered an hour ago.

Afterwards, she, along with Nancy and Steve, as well as all of the kids besides Mike and Will himself, are herded back inside the house where they’re expected to not do much more than wait. With little choice in the matter, Calico takes a seat against a wall. Everyone is quiet, either speaking in hushed murmurs that she can’t make out or not saying anything at all and simply doing whatever eases their restlessness. For some of them it’s pacing back and forth to and from the window with the best view of the shed. For Steve it’s swinging his bat.

He stands a safe distance from Calico and adjusts his grip before imitating a harsh swing. She can catch the slight whistle of the bat cutting through the air. His back faces her almost entirely, and she watches as his shoulders brace and his arms tighten beneath his jacket, the way the muscles in his thighs bunch up under his fitted jeans. He swings again, and Calico has to look away when her eyes are inevitably drawn to the slope and tight curve of his rear. Her cheeks burn deeply, and she presses her cold hands to her face, grateful for how chilly the house is.

“Hey, hey. You okay?” She peeks out from between her fingers to see Steve watching her with a furrowed brow, bat hanging by his side.

“Um... Yeah. I’m okay.” Calico removes her hands and tucks a few curls behind her ears.

He slides down to sit next to her and places the bat against the wall. “You know you don’t have to stay here and deal with all this if you don’t want to.”

She frowns even though he’s right. But there’s something he doesn’t seem to understand. “I would have left long ago if I didn’t want to help.”

“This isn’t your fight.”

“It will be if this... creature gets what it wants.” Hasn’t he been listening at all?

“No, I mean—“ He pauses, licks his lips. “Even before knowing any of this, you could have left.” Steve ruffles agitatedly at his hair. “Why’d you stay?”

There’s a jerk in her stomach, like the feeling when you’re about to receive really bad news. “I’ll leave if I’m not wanted,” she says slowly. “It’s nothing I’m not used to.” Calico begins to push up to her feet.

Steve’s hand grasps hers when she’s halfway up. “I want you here.” He squeezes her hand in his until she sits back down. “Don’t make a habit of being lonely, Calico. It isn’t good for people to be alone all the time.”

Calico looks down. His hand still cradles hers, fingers clasped together and resting on his thigh. “I’ve been just fine on my own.”

“Have you?” The solemn way he says it makes her hesitate. “You deserve to have people around that care about you. Choosing to stay and help everyone here makes me believe that you don’t really want to be alone forever. You want to... connect.”

What do you know ? She wants to ask. Instead she says, “You barely know me. How could you know what I want?”

Steve’s lips part. “I know you’re a person, a whole human being, and not some fairy tale or urban myth. You’re real. And real people need real friends. Real affection. Real love.” He looks out at the others milling about the house. “They’re all here because they care about Will. They care about the outcome of this mess. They care about each other.” His eyes return to meet hers. “If you give them the chance, they’ll care about you too.” He smooths his thumb over her hand. “We want you to stick around. But I have no idea how messy it’s gonna get, or what the outcome might be. You shouldn’t feel obligated to join this fight, and no one here would blame you for wanting to avoid this threat of...of dimensional annihilation.”

Calico isn’t quite sure what to say. She suspects this sort of talk isn’t what Steve is used to; just slightly more than she is herself.

His thumb gliding back and forth over the back of her hand is soothing, and the flash of hurt that stung in her chest melts.

“You’re a kind person, Steve,” she murmurs, lips pursed to hold back the smile that wants to form.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been working on it.”

Calico leans her head back against the wall, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “This is my fight too, you know. As crazy as it may seem, I am one of the many people that live in this dimension, so I’d prefer not to see it destroyed or invaded or whatever. And if I can help do something about it, then I’m not going anywhere.”

At that very moment, the light fixture above them flickers, buzzing sporadically. Calico frowns, cants her head towards the hallway nearby, noticing the light wavering there too, as well as in the living room.

Steve wordlessly pushes to his feet, and in doing so prompts Calico to stand with him. She follows him to the living room where the others have gathered, silently looking out the window towards the shed. Everyone has various levels of anxiety on their faces; worried for their friend, curious about what discoveries are being made, eager to find the key to end this nightmare. Something uneasy unspools in Calico’s stomach, even as the lights settle. What is going on in there?

Barely a minute later, the shed door bursts open, and Chief Hopper storms out, headed for the house. The moment he enters he’s in a flurry of motion, grabbing a piece of paper and the nearest writing utensil before settling in a chair at the table.

Everyone follows him, flustered by his lack of explanation and fervent movement.

Dustin finally gets out a breathless, “What happened?”

The chief begins scribbling on the paper, sighing. “I think he’s talking. Just not with words.”

Calico peeks over Steve’s shoulder, taking in the cluster of lines and dots drawn on the paper.

“What is that?” Steve wonders.

“Morse code.” The boys speak at the same time. Calico read about it in the library once; it was in some free military pamphlet. It was the only article in it that interested her; a wordless language originally intended to help soldiers communicate silently. She finds it impressive that Will knows it well enough to use even under the influence of a monster.

Chief Hopper works out the code, putting together the sentence that Will delivered. “H. E. R. E.”

“Here...” the boys read aloud.

Calico looks over each of their faces, searching for an explanation. They all appear just as stumped as she is. There has to be more. They just need to figure out how to keep Will present enough to provide more.

“Will is still in there,” Chief declares resolutely. “He’s talking to us.” He stands up from the chair. “So let’s find out what he has to say.”


	6. Chapter 6

Calico has gathered that those of Will’s loved ones who have remained with him in the shed have been trying to coax reactions out of him by reminiscing about the past, drawing beloved memories to the surface that Will’s gentle nature can attach to and use as an anchor to provide his messages. It’s a heartbreaking way of utilizing nostalgia. 

Inside the house, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max have formed an interesting method with the chief to deliver Will’s messages and decode them at the same time. While Hopper provides the Morse code from the shed, it’s actively written out inside. 

“Dash, dot, dash, dot.” 

Dustin roves over their handy reference pamphlet. “Okay, got it.” 

“C,” Lucas says, and Nancy writes it down on another paper. It continues like this for the next few minutes, adding the letters L. O. S. E. G. A. T. E. 

“Close gate,” they all read together. 

Calico’s head tilts as she sees the finished words for herself, confused by their possible meaning and relevance. Close what gate? If the message is coming from Will himself, and he’s possessed by the mind flayer, could this be the final solution to ending this? The tiny piece of him that is still with them is sending this one desperate message, one that’s more important than any other he could give. Would closing the gate successfully cut off the mind flayer from this dimension? Would it banish the creatures that have infiltrated their world for good? 

A sudden shrill ringing jolts everyone, loud and jarring; it makes Calico’s pulse jump, and she tenses as Dustin and Nancy jump to the wall the telephone is mounted upon to put a stop to it as quick as they can. The phone is jerked from the cradle and slammed back onto it, silencing it only for a brief moment before it begins to ring again. Nancy takes the opportunity to simply rip the phone from the wall altogether and hurl it to the floor. In doing so, she also detaches the cords and thus ensures the device ceases for good. 

The room is unsettlingly silent for a moment, and Calico gulps in the air that seems to have leapt from her lungs. 

Warily, Max speaks up, “You think he heard that?”

“It’s just a phone,” Steve says. “It could be anywhere, right?” Despite saying that though, his eyes uneasily flicker over everyone. 

Calico isn’t so convinced. This is Will’s home. He could possibly recognize the sound of his own house phone, or even deduce that his loved ones might not stray too far from home to undertake a serious and potentially dangerous endeavor. And if this mind flayer is intelligent, it could have already come to that very same conclusion. 

From somewhere outside, an eerie screeching breaks through the night. It echoes across the wind, not sounding very far away. 

Calico shuffles behind everyone towards the window once again, peeking outside and noticing Hopper, Mike, and Jonathan standing outside the shed staring in what must be the direction of the haunting sound. 

“That’s not good,” Dustin mutters helplessly. 

Calico glances at the boy, brows pinched. “What does that mean? Does it know Will is here now?” 

“I don’t know...” 

The front door opens, and Joyce enters, followed by Jonathan holding Will’s unconscious body. Hopper enters last, closing the door behind him and stalking into the living room holding two large guns. Calico gulps at the sight, wondering if it’s really going to come to another fight like in the junkyard earlier, possibly one even worse. 

“Get away from the window,” he commands, gesturing at the kids crowded on the couch looking outside for any sign of the monsters. They all scramble away back towards the dining room. 

Hopper looks over everyone, and holds out the rifle to Jonathan. “Can you use this?” 

Jonathan looks at the gun uncertainly, and the chief shakes the firearm impatiently, repeating sternly, “ Can you use this ?” 

“I can.” Nancy steps forward, and Calico watches as Hopper tosses her the gun. 

Everyone takes up a defensive stance: Hopper and Nancy aiming their guns, Steve and Calico wielding their bat and pipe, Dustin fully prepared to fight with his own fists, Lucas positioned protectively in front of Max with his slingshot at the ready, and Jonathan, Joyce, and Mike standing sentinel in the back, closest to the hallway where Will has been deposited in his room for the time being. 

“Where are they?” Max wonders aloud, a noticeable tremor in her voice. 

The howls increase in volume, growing nearer, and Calico fearfully wonders just how many demo-dogs they are about to encounter. As many as in the junkyard? More? She, Steve, and the kids were lucky they avoided physically fighting them off before, but now, with their target so close, just what are the monsters willing to do, willing to sacrifice, willing to destroy, to reach it? 

Anticipation mounts rapidly. Everyone is on edge. Calico can almost feel the weight of their collective trepidation; it’s a fine shaking in her hands, the prickling sweat gathering in her palms and nape of her neck. 

A loud  _thud_ outside jerks everyone towards the noise near the dining room window. 

“What are they doing?” Nancy hisses, sighting down the barrel of her gun. 

The bushes right outside the window shudder, their leaves rustled by a disturbance. 

Calico’s fingers twist on the metal of her pipe, adjusting her grip in preparation for a hard swing. 

Growls emanate just beyond the pane of glass; suddenly cut short by another bang near the front door, pulling everyone’s attention back to the living room. 

A strange groaning comes from outside, a weak sound. 

_What is going on?_ Calico anxiously wonders.  _Why haven’t they attacked?_

There’s a piercing screech, and the window shatters as something dives through to land on the floor in a heap. Calico swallows back a scream and waits for the sound of gunfire. It doesn’t come. 

Everyone cautiously creeps forward, waiting for the creature to jump up and attack. But the body on the floor doesn’t move at all. It remains crumpled and immobile. 

“Holy shit,” Dustin breathes. 

“Is it dead?” Max blurts, eyes wide as Hopper nudges the creature with his boot. 

Calico doesn’t have much more than a moment to consider the implications of a dead demo-dog at their feet before the front door rattles, and everyone is tensed and ready to attack all over again. Weirdly, the growls and howls have stopped, and whatever is outside the door is capable of twisting a doorknob. It’s locked, but the deadbolt slides open on its own, and Calico’s throat constricts in fear all over again.  _How in the hell...?_

Slowly, the front door eases open, and a young girl of all things walks in, blood dripping from one nostril. Calico gradually releases the breath she was holding, and takes in everyone’s faces as she considers whether the child is a friend or foe. 

Their reactions are enough of an answer: mixtures of shock and gratitude and relief and joy. They know this girl. 

Mike steps ahead of everyone as they lower their weapons, staring at this girl with disbelief and a reverence Calico never would expect to see in someone so young. 

They move closer to one another until the girl finally steps into Mike’s arms. 

“Eleven,” he murmurs as he squeezes her close. 

The girl gasps a watery, “Mike,” and she presses her face into his shoulder. Calico notices the girl trembling as she attempts to control her sobs, and something tightens in her chest at the display. 

“I never gave up on you,” Mike says as they finally separate, but he keeps her close with his hands at her elbows. “I called you every night.  _Every_ night.”

“353 days,” Eleven replies with a solemn nod. “I heard.” 

Mike frowns slightly in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me you were there? That you were okay?”

“Because I wouldn’t let her.” Calico looks at Hopper as he moves towards the girl. “What the hell is this? Where have you been?”

“Where have  you been?” Eleven remarks as the chief pulls her into a hug. 

“You’ve been hiding her,” Mike concludes, stepping forward and angrily shoving Hopper. “You’ve been hiding her this whole time!” 

“Hey!” The chief holds the boy back with an arm and a stern look. “Listen! Let’s talk.” He releases the girl and leads Mike down the hall, presumably to one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him. 

Lucas and Dustin take the opportunity to approach Eleven, but Max hangs back. She must not know the other girl the way the boys do, if at all. 

Calico sidles up next to Steve who watches, evidently just as intrigued as she is. 

Eventually, the young redhead decides to approach the others. “Eleven?” She holds out a friendly hand. “Hey, um, I’m Max. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Eleven looks at the offered hand, and simply ignores Max entirely, walking past her and towards Joyce who gladly takes her into her arms. 

“Ouch,” Steve whispers with a small grimace as he looks at Max’s crestfallen expression. 

Calico glances at him. “Do you know her?” 

“Ah, no. They’ve talked a lot about her. Never met her though.” 

“How did she even get here? With the demo-dogs lurking around?” 

Steve shrugs, twisting his hands back and forth along the grip of his bat. “Apparently she has powers.”

Calico deadpans. “She has what now?” 

“Abilities... or something. I don’t know! This is just what I’ve been told. It’s weird enough with all of the monsters pouring out of a different dimension, but I guess there’s kids with superpowers now too.” 

“She was raised in the lab we were at earlier,” Dustin offers, obviously having heard their struggle to understand this whole situation. “Trained to use telekinesis. Oh! And she’s pretty much the only one who can see into the Upside Down without getting stuck there. It all usually messes her up a bit, hence the nosebleeds.” He gestures to his face. 

Calico’s mouth has dropped open in a small “o”, and her gaze falls to the mangled demo-dog corpse on the floor. “So, she did  that ?” At Dustin’s proud nod and hum of affirmation, she continues, “And the Upside Down? Is that another name for the other dimension all these things are coming from?” 

“Yup,” he pops the “p”. 

“That’s where Will was last year,” Lucas adds. “He was stuck, and El helped us get him back.” 

“So she’s some kind of experiment,” Steve surmises with a nod. 

“Uh, yeah, actually.” 

“And she’s pretty much the only one who can close the gate for good,” Dustin reveals with a wince. 

Calico’s eyebrows rise as she glances over her shoulder towards the hallway Eleven and Joyce disappeared into. “Seriously? That little girl? Wow...” She smiles, impressed. “Badass.” 

“Hell yeah.” 

Any conversation in the room dies as Joyce and Eleven return, followed by Mike and Hopper. The former two walk to the dining room where Will’s message remains on the table. 

Everyone follows, standing behind them as Joyce looks from the paper to Eleven. “You opened this gate before, right?” 

The girl stares at the paper, something intense in her young features. “Yes.” 

“Do you think that if we got you back there, that you could close it again?” 

Eleven raises her dark eyes to meet Joyce’s, and nods once. 

Calico casts a glance at Steve, whose jaw is set. She roves her gaze across everyone gathered, taking in their various levels of determination and apprehension. There’s a lot Calico still doesn’t know about this entire situation, and with the apparent reappearance of Eleven, she realizes things are still much more complicated than she thought. And the fight isn’t over yet. 


	7. Chapter 7

“It’s not like it was before,” Hopper says with a weary sigh. “It’s grown. A lot. And, I mean, that’s considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs.”

“Demo-dogs,” Dustin supplies. 

Hopper looks at him, unimpressed. “I'm sorry, what?” 

“I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass.” 

“How is this important right now?”

Dustin deflates. “It's not. I'm sorry.” 

“I can do it,” El speaks up. 

Hopper shakes his head adamantly. “You're not hearing me.”

“I'm hearing you.  I can do it. ” 

“Even if El can, there's still another problem,” Mike points out. “If the brain dies, the body dies.”

“I thought that was the whole point,” Max says. 

“It is, but if we're really right about this I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army— Will's a part of that army. Closing the gate will kill him.” 

With that knowledge, the room falls silent. Calico is already fully aware that no one is willing to sacrifice Will to this monster; whatever plan they formulate has to involve effectively getting the mind flayer out of him for good. She isn’t certain what that might entail, but she figures she’s already involved, and it wouldn’t make much sense to duck out now when help is needed the most. 

Calico notices Joyce’s gaze flittering around the room, as if she’s sorting her thoughts and and coming to a new conclusion. When she straightens and walks to the room Will is in, everyone decides to follow. 

The boy lies still in his hospital gown, unconscious on top of the blankets. 

Joyce pipes up when she reaches his side, “He likes it cold.” At everyone’s collective questioning gaze, she continues, “It's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold. We keep giving it what it wants.” She shuts the open window firmly. That explains why the house is freezing; even with a sweater and jacket, Calico can feel the chill seeping into her clothes and drawing goosebumps to the surface of her skin. 

Nancy looks down at Will. “If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then—“

“Then we need to make the host uninhabitable,” Jonathan finishes. 

“So if he likes it cold—“

“That means it needs to be burned it out of him?” Calico wonders, quietly. 

Everyone looks at her, and she hopes they all came to the same conclusion. 

“Yes,” Joyce finally confirms. 

“We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time,” Mike says. 

“Yeah, somewhere far away,” Dustin agrees. 

*******

Calico isn’t sure the kids were expecting to be left behind in the Byer’s house while Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy relocate Will to expel the mind flayer from inside him, and Hopper takes El back to the lab to close the gate. Calico isn’t certain of the details of their endeavors, but she assumes sealing the gate is something only El can accomplish due to her abilities. It’s still quite mind-boggling, but she’s hardly had time to ingest it all. And, despite seeing it for herself, this all still feels like some hyper-realistic dream that will eventually melt away to reveal she’s been asleep the entire time, lying on her old worn and torn mattress that she hijacked from the local department store dumpster. 

As she stands beside Steve and the kids on the front porch, watching both groups drive off to complete tasks that will potentially stop a full on invasion, she wonders if she’s not entirely out of her depth, and if being here at all is useful. After all, when she woke up this morning, she never in her life would have suspected that she’d join a group of individuals tangled up in a battle with creatures from an alternate dimension. She’s more than a little unprepared, and very much inexperienced, but if she’s being entirely honest, if the best she can do to help right now is protect these kids, then she’ll do it to the best of her ability. 

*******

“Alright, kiddos, let’s get rid of this...thing.” Steve places his hands on his hips and warily looks down at the dead demo-dog in the living room as if it’s gonna come back to life and snap at him. 

Dustin adamantly shakes his head. “No, no! We can’t get just rid of it. We have to keep it—“

“What?” Steve scoffs. Calico, however, is interested to know where he’s going with this. 

“This is proof of the Upside-Down. Proof of another dimension. We need it so it can be studied by competent scientists!” 

“Competent?” Calico utters. Shouldn’t that be a given? 

Dustin nods. “That lab we were at earlier? Yeah, those nut jobs there are the reason we’re in this mess. They’re the ones that ripped open the tear in the first place— or, well, forced El to.” 

“She opened the gate?” Calico doesn’t mean to sound so accusatory, and realizes it’s too late to amend her tone when Mike overhears and rushes to defend Eleven, exclaiming, “El is the last person we should be blaming!” 

Steve steps forward with a placating hand. “Hey, she’s not blaming El. Calico is new to all this, and, to be fair, no one has exactly explained much. So maybe give her a break. She just wants to help.” 

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” she tells Mike, sincerely hoping he sees her position in this. “But I just want to understand, in any way I can.” 

Mike shrugs and walks away. Dustin pipes up, “I’ll answer any questions you have. Mike is just really protective of El—“

“Don’t take it personally,” Lucas chimes in as he offers her a broom. “He’ll defend her against anyone to the ends of the earth.” 

Calico silently nods, taking the broom and waiting for Steve to wrap up the demo-dog in a blanket and haul it off to the kitchen before beginning to sweep the glass from the shattered window into a few piles. It’s evident, even by the brief time she’s seen them interact, that Mike and Eleven have a deeply intimate bond, despite being thirteen years old, they possess something Calico has only read about in the novels she consumes in the library. They’re so young, she doesn’t blame Mike for being so protective. 

“Here,” Max offers, bending down to hold the dustpan while Calico brushes the shards into it. The younger girl moves to throw the pieces away while Calico picks up the blankets that fell to the floor and folds them to replace them on the couch. In an effort to keep her hands busy and her mind focused on a task, she moves to pick up the toys and books that fell on the floor during the earlier commotion, smoothing down the paper still strewn across the carpet. 

As her fingers pass across a piece of paper crinkled around the edges, Mike passes by as he paces across the living room, nearly stepping on her fingers in the process. 

“Mike, would you just stop already?” Lucas grumbles, leaning against his broom. 

“You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?” He snaps in response, spinning on his friend. “That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs!” 

“Demo-dogs!” Dustin leans around the corner to shout unhelpfully. 

“The chief will take care of her,” Lucas attempts to console. “Like she needs protection.” 

Steve enters the room, slinging a dish towel over his shoulder. “Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?” 

Mike narrows his eyes at the older boy, unimpressed. “Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench.” 

Steve stammers as he attempts to contest Mike’s words, failing to do so miserably. “So my point is—right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do.” 

“That's not entirely true,” Dustin says. “I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away.” 

“If we get their attention,” Lucas continues. 

Max sees where they’re going with this train of thought and finishes, “Maybe we can draw them from the lab.” 

“Clear a path to the gate,” Mike elaborates. 

Steve looks at them as if they’re crazy. “Yeah, and then we all die!” 

“That's one point of view.” Dustin shrugs. 

He balks at the boy. “No, that's not a point of view, man. That's a fact.” 

“Is there no way we can help?” Calico asks, stepping forward. “Sure, staying here is the best option if we’re all looking to remain utterly safe for the time being, but, worst case scenario? If El and Hopper don’t manage to close the gate soon, more demo-dogs and who knows what else will come through and wreak havoc, right?” She purses her lips. “We don’t need what’s happened to Will to happen to anyone else.”

Everyone stares at her, but not a single one disputes her words. 

Finally, Dustin smiles. “You know, for someone who just learned about this stuff today, you’re taking it surprisingly well.” 

“I’m still taking it all in.” Her hands slip into her jacket pockets, fiddle with the strings of fabric fraying inside them. “Figure I’ll compartmentalize until I have time to actually absorb everything. Seems more productive than freaking out on the spot.” She offers a halfhearted laugh. 

Something comes over Mike, and pushes between Steve and Dustin as he passes to enter the dining room. “I got it!” He crouches and points to a piece of paper designated as an area of the tunnel spread through the house. “This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel.” He stands and leads everyone to where the paper trails connect to a central crowd of paper clustered together. “So, here. Right here. This is like a hub. You got all the tunnels feeding in here.  Maybe if we set this on fire—“ 

“Oh, yeah? That's a no.” Steve immediately refutes, but that doesn’t defuse the kids’ rambling planning. 

“The mind flayer would call away his army,” Dustin offers. 

“They'd all come to stop us,” Lucas adds. 

“We circle back to the exit.”

Steve rolls his eyes to the ceiling before looking to Calico who shrugs helplessly. “Guys.” 

“By the time they realize we're gone—“

“El would be at the gate,” Max supplies. 

“ Hey .” Steve claps his hands together to draw their attention. “Hey! Hey! This is not happening.”

“But—“

“No, no, no, no, no! No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on. We're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand?”

“This isn't a stupid sports game!” Mike asserts. 

Steve whips the towel off his shoulder and waves it at them to punctuate his point. “I said  does everybody understand that ? I need a yes.” 

The roar of an engine breaks the kids’ stubborn silence, and horrified realization falls on Max’s face as she turns and runs to the window, kneeling on the couch to look outside. 

“It's my brother,” she says with a glance at Lucas next to her, sounding none too happy. “He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill  us .” There’s a slight panicked edge to her voice, one that sets Calico on edge. 

She looks at Steve, noticing the pensive look on his face. “Do you know her brother?” 

He shifts his gaze to her, blinking. “Yeah. Billy’s a prick.” He places a hand on Calico’s arm and turns to her, his expression more severe than ever she’s seen it. Somehow that doesn’t calm her nerves. “Look, stay in here with them, alright? I’ll get rid of him.” She watches stiffly as he walks out the door, careful to not open it too wide as to let Max’s brother get a glimpse inside. 

Calico waves at the kids still risking a look outside. “Get back from the window, he could see you.” Lucas and Max slide away from the couch, but they stick close enough to hear the conversation going on outside. 

“Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?” She hears an unfamiliar voice from the other side of the door. 

“Yeah, it's me,” Steve blandly responds. “Don't cream your pants.” 

“What are you doing here, amigo?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Amigo.” 

“Looking for my stepsister. A little birdie told me she was here.”

“Huh, that's weird. I don't know her.”

“Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch.” 

“Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”

While their conversation volleys with quips back and forth, Calico rubs her face with her hands, blowing air into her cupped palms before rubbing them together. 

“She's not here.”

“Then who is that?” 

Calico whips around, spotting Dustin, Max, and Lucas right back where they were told not to be a mere second before they pitch themselves from the couch again. “I said to stay away from the window!” She hisses. 

“Shit!” Dustin curses. “Did he see us?” 

“Probably!” Calico scolds, peeking through the peephole on the door. “Pretty hard not to notice three heads hovering at a window!” 

She watches as Billy shoves Steve harshly to the ground and bears down on him threateningly, kicking him hard in the stomach. And something snaps inside of her. 

“Stay inside,” she warns the kids, leaving no room for debate. “Lock the door behind me.” Calico tears the door open and closes it behind her, waiting until she hears the telltale click of the locks before making her way down the steps and towards the two young men. 

Billy lifts his gaze from Steve, taking in the newcomer. “And who is this little lady? Your new sidepiece, Harrington? Whatever happened to that Wheeler chick?” He cocks his head as his gaze unashamedly roves over Calico. “Never figured you’d be into curvier girls.” 

Her hands curl into fists in her pockets as she approaches, attempting to pacify through clenched teeth, “We lost track of time. It’s my fault, really. Figured I’d let the kids play with some of my old board games—I have a shit-ton of them you see, and would hate for them to just gather dust, and Mrs. Byers was nice enough to let them hang out here at her house for a gaming marathon—“

“Why’s the window broken?” 

Calico pauses, glancing over her shoulder at the very obvious hole in the glass left by the demo-dog that El hurled into the house earlier. “Baseball accident.” 

Steve pushes himself to his feet, arm clutching his stomach as he turns to look at Calico and sends her a wide-eyed look that screams _“_ _ what the hell are you thinking ?!”  _

“Who even are you?” Billy asks with a humorless chuckle as he steps closer to her. “I haven’t seen you around school.” 

“I’m... new,” she mutters, frowning deeply at his aggressive display, an attempt to intimidate her. Her eyes follow his movements closely as he draws nearer, and as she begins to backpedal, he seems to move towards her faster until she’s clumsily stepping up the porch stairs backwards. And then there’s only the front door behind her. 

“You’re new,” Billy repeats lowly with a unimpressed smile. “Why don’t you let me fetch my step-sister, new girl?” 

“I’m not gonna do that.” She’s surprised that her voice doesn’t shake under the weight of his browbeating. 

He stares at her, damn near growling, “And why is that?” 

Unsure of what to say, Calico quirks a smirk and shrugs. 

But that seems to be the wrong thing to do. 

In a rush of movement, Billy grabs a handful of her hair and shoves her against the door, bellowing, “Max, open the goddamn door, or your babysitter is gonna have one hell of a headache tomorrow!” 

At the stunned silence from the other side, he yanks Calico forward and thrusts her back, causing her skull to harshly collide into the wood with a  _crack!_

A pained shriek escapes her mouth as her vision shudders around the edges from the blow, hands gripping Billy’s at her shirt and scalp, nails digging in deeply to get him to release her. He’s rearing to jostle her again, and she desperately kicks out, successfully connecting with his shin, and he hisses, as she likely tore off some skin with the strike. 

Calico pulls back to kick out again, but next thing she knows, she’s pulled forward as Billy is ripped backwards by Steve in an attempt to get him away from her. They both go sprawling down the steps and onto the ground, her barely catching herself with her own elbows. Steve rushes forward to grasp Calico’s arms and haul her up, muttering, “Shit, shit! Are you alright?” He makes sure she’s steady on her feet, quickly pushing her hair out of her face before turning back to Billy, who has managed to regain his footing as well. 

“Stop hurting them!” The desperate gasp comes from Max standing in the open doorway. “Let’s— let’s just go home.” The fearful waver in her otherwise determined voice moves something in Calico.  She doesn’t want to go. At least not with him. 

“You’re not going anywhere with him,” she declares, sending a seething glare at the young man in question. Touching her violently is one thing, but she can’t even fathom Max being treated anything like this. 

Billy’s eyebrows dart upwards until his forehead is wrinkled, clearly shocked by Calico’s proclamation. “Excuse me?” He looks at Max, only to settle his features into a cool facade as the other kids step up beside Max in the door way. “Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise.” He sends a look at his step-sister. “I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max.” Billy shakes his head in disappointment as he stalks forward leisurely, sending the kids scooting backwards and further into the house until he steps inside and slams the door shut behind him. 

Calico sends a desperate look at Steve, who is still holding his hand to his stomach. “He’s gonna hurt them,” she rasps, grabbing his hand and rushing for the door, throwing it open to the chaos breaking inside. 

“Billy! Stop! Billy!” Max screams. 

Calico rapidly takes in the scene: Billy has hauled Lucas across the room, fistfuls of his shirt in his hands and pinned him against a shelf. 

Her mouth drops open, appalled and horrified at his behavior towards a kid. What could Lucas have possibly done to warrant such treatment? Calico honestly cannot fathom a single validation. 

“Stop! Get off of me!” 

He gets in the boys face, threatening, “Since Maxine won't listen to me, maybe you will. You stay away from her.” He jostles Lucas. “Stay away from her! You hear me?” 

“I said get off me!” Lucas shouts, pulling up his knee and ramming Billy right between the legs. 

Billy grunts, immediately releasing Lucas and bowing over to cup himself. “So dead, Sinclair! You're dead.” 

Steve lunges forward and grabs his shoulder, spinning him around. “No. You are.” He hurls his fist into Billy’s face, throwing the other boy off balance. 

Dustin chuckles at the display of Billy being knocked to his ass as Max shouts, “Steve!” In relief. 

Billy laughs loudly but somehow without humor as he gets to his feet, blood smeared under his nose. “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about!” 

“Get. Out,” Steve warns, pressing his hand against Billy’s chest to keep distance. 

Max and Dustin coax Lucas over to them, hugging him tightly before their attention is inevitably drawn back to the fight. 

Billy stares at him. When he decides to take a swing, Calico braces herself to watch Steve take the hit, but when he ducks and returns a successful fist to Billy’s face, she clasps her hands over her mouth. 

“Yes!” Dustin hollers. “Kick his ass, Steve!”

“Get him!” Mike yells. 

“Murder the son of a bitch!” Calico considers popping Dustin in the back of the head for that one. 

Steve continues to deliver blows, eventually pinning Billy to the kitchen counter. He braces himself against the surface, hands spread, searching, reaching—

“Steve!” 

Her warning comes too late, and glass shatters as a plate meets Steve’s face, sending him reeling back. Billy seems unfazed by the numerous hits he’s received, sauntering to the other boy and gripping his jacket while he’s still dazed by the hit of glass across his face, and head butting him  hard . Steve falls to the floor in a heap, having no time to recuperate before Billy has him pinned and is sending his fists hurtling into his face over and over. 

The kids are shouting, telling— _begging_ —Billy to stop, because Steve isn’t moving very much, and Calico doesn’t realize she’s rushing forward until she’s already grabbing Billy by the back of his shirt, and yanking back. 

Pain explodes through Calico's face as an elbow catches her nose, and she stumbles backwards. Just in time, she manages to catch herself on the edge of the couch and pushes herself into balance on her feet before stalking right back towards the two brawling boys. Billy makes a grab for Steve again in his mindless rage, fingers finding the edge of his shirt and damn near ripping it off. Steve, even in his beaten state, is evidently still conscious enough to grab Billy’s ankle, causing the boy to trip a couple steps. 

Unfortunately, he bumps right into Calico, and seeing an opportunity, snatches the collar of her jacket up in his fist and hauls her forward in front of him. With nowhere to place the momentum of his pull, Calico stumbles until his arm wraps around her neck. Every flex of his arm nearly cuts off her ability to breathe. Her gaze catches Steve; his face bloodied and already bruising deeply. Anger grips Calico like a humid vise, fueling the force in which she reaches back and grips a handful of Billy's hair—nails cutting across his cheek like claws on the way—and bows her back before yanking so hard he lurches forward. She uses his own weight to flip him up and off of her. He lands on his back with a painful thud and his breaths wheeze out a couple of times. Then he begins to laugh, a light chuckle that grows loud and mocking. 

“You have a girl fighting for you now, Harrington?” He wheezes. “You’re not worried she’ll get more than a busted nose?”

“She’s handing your ass to you just fine,” Steve wheezes with a proud quirk of his lips, bloodied all the way down to his chin by the split he’s received. 

Billy grits his teeth as he pushes himself to sit up, glass tinkling where he adjusts his weight. Calico figures he’ll be picking pieces out of his hands all night. 

Little does he know, Max has crept up behind him, a syringe in hand, and Calico almost tells her to stop,  _almost_ . But she’s had enough mercy for tonight. 

When she sticks her step-brother in the neck and depresses the plunger, Calico doesn’t wait to watch what happens before she drops to her knees beside Steve. 

Afraid to touch him in fear of hurting him more, she lowers her head to his mouth, hearing the light but steady wheezing of his breathing. He’s finally fallen unconscious, and his face is a mess of blood; she figures he’ll be sporting quite a few deep and painful cuts and bruises for a few weeks. 

Billy gasps behind her, grunting, “The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do? What did you do?” His words are slurring, and he tries to keep his balance, but ultimately fails, and collapses onto the floor. And still, he laughs, like it’s all a joke. 

“Shit,” Mike utters. 

“From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone,” Max warns. “Do you understand?” 

“Screw you,” Billy mumbles. 

An abrupt  crack causes Calico to jolt and throw a look over her shoulder, eyes widening when she sees Steve’s nail-studded bat wedged into the floor right in between Billy’s legs. “Say you understand! Say it!  Say it !”

“I understand,” he finally gives in before his eyes shut, no longer strong enough to fight the concoction that she injected him with. 

Max drops the bat with finality, stepping to Billy’s side and pulling a set of keys from his pocket before addressing her friends, “Let's get out of here.” 


	8. Chapter 8

“Can you drive?” 

Calico doesn’t realize Max is addressing her until the sound of keys jangling is right in her ear. She looks at the girl from her bent position as she helps situate a still unconscious Steve in the back seat with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. It’s a tight fit, but they manage.  She pulls away from the car to look at the younger girl, then the keys dangling from her fingers. “Uh, no. Never exactly got the chance to learn, being homeless and all...” 

Max purses her lips with a nod, seeming to think for a minute, and coming to a decision. “Get in.” 

Calico watches as she slides into the drivers seat herself, mouth falling open. “Do  _you _ know how to drive?” She asks dubiously. 

The younger girl shrugs as she pulls on her seatbelt. “My mom let me cruise up and down some parking lots back in California a few times.” 

Calico shuts the backseat door before warily taking the passengers seat, tugging her own seatbelt on. Thankfully it’s late enough at night that she’s hopeful not too many people will be on the roads, but still—

Max inserts the key and revs the engine to life. 

—Calico chants a short prayer under her breath, to whoever will listen, that after all they’ve been through, they don’t die in a car wreck. 

The car purrs as Max slowly backs out, then once she’s on the driveway, hits the gas pedal. She turns onto the road, and Calico clenches one hand on the dashboard while the other grips the seatbelt over her chest. She’s certain the girl is way over the speed limit, but they need to get to the hub quickly if they’re to help El and Hopper the way they plan to. 

Initially, Calico tried to dissuade them from going; Steve didn’t want them to either after all, it’ll be very dangerous. But they wouldn’t be swayed. It’s not going to be a safe or easy task, but Calico helped to ensure they’ll have tools they may need to protect themselves and implement their plan. Her last condition: that she comes with them, which also meant bringing Steve along. Like hell they were going to leave him unconscious with Billy in the Byer’s house. Sure, Billy is unconscious too, but no one is sure when either of them will wake up. 

Max takes a sharp turn, and Calico catches herself against the window, throwing a hard look at the girl. “Take it easy!” 

“We don’t have time,” she retorts, not taking her eyes off the road. 

A light groan comes from the backseat, and Calico glances back, then double takes as she realizes Steve is coming to. 

He looks horrible. 

She grimaces at the swollen state of his face, a collection of dark reds and purples that look as painful as they likely feel. Both her nose and the knot at the back of her own head sting, but are bearable, especially in comparison to Steve’s battered state. She’s not even sure how her own face looks after being hit with an elbow, but she doubts it looks anything like his. 

Steve dazedly raises his hand to touch his own face, only to be stopped by Dustin who holds an ice pack to his head. “Don’t touch it.” Calico maneuvers herself in her seat, tucking her leg beneath her to face the backseat a little better. “You did great,” Dustin continues. “You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass but you did great.” 

“Keep going straight,” Lucas tells Max, reading from the map in his hands. “You’ll make a left on Mount Sinai.” 

“What’s going on?” Steve rasps, appearing a little more coherent every second, attempting to sit up on his own. “Oh, my God!” 

“Just relax,” Dustin attempts to calm him. “She's driven before.”

“Yeah, in a parking lot,” Mike scoffs. 

“That counts,” Lucas defends. 

“Calico said we couldn’t leave you behind,” Dustin says. 

“And she’s never driven before,” Max hurriedly adds. 

“Hey, don’t pin this on me,” Calico admonishes with a shake of her head. “I wasn’t gonna leave him at the house with Billy, and I wasn’t gonna let you guys run off on your own. So I compromised.”

Steve groans, “Oh, my God.” 

Calico glances at Max, who chooses that moment to hit the pedal to the floorboard, sending the car lurching forward with renewed speed. 

“What's going on?” Steve feels the car pick up. “No! Whoa! Stop the car. Slow down!”

“I told you he'd freak out,” Mike says, completely unfazed by the increased speed. 

“Stop the car!”

Calico peers at the speedometer, making out that Max is pushing 90 miles per hour. “You need to slow down!” She grips onto the seat. 

“Everybody shut up!” Max snaps. “I'm trying to focus!”

Lucas peers around Calico. “Oh, wait, that's Mount Sinai. Make a left!”

Max turns the steering wheel hard, sending the car screeching across the road, and hitting a mailbox on the way. Everyone screams—the boys clutch one another in the back, and Calico wraps her arms around her seat, pressing her face into the fabric as she shrieks.  Once the car levels out on the street, Max pulls off the road and into a field where she finally hits the breaks at the edge of a giant gaping hole in the ground; the entrance that Hopper dug himself. Calico raises her head with a shuddered sigh before sending a glare at Max. “What the hell.”

The younger girl merely flicks her eyes at her, pursing her lips as she puts the car in park and opens the door to step out. “You could have driven instead.”

“Whoa!” Dustin exclaims. 

“I told you. Zoomer.”

Calico shakes her head, panting with adrenaline as she unbuckles and opens the door to slide out, following Max to the trunk. Popping it open, the kids start gearing up, pulling on goggles and gloves, tying bandanas around their faces to cover their noses and mouths. 

Steve tumbles out of the car, “Guys.” He leans against the door and watches as they continue on as if they can’t even hear him. But he catches on to what their intentions are as soon as he spots the gasoline canisters being stuffed into backpacks. “Oh, no. Guys. Hey, where do you think you're going?” His voice raises as Max, Mike, and Lucas make their way into the hole. “What are you, deaf?  _Hello__?_ We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear. There’s no chance we're going in there, all right? This ends right now!” 

Despite his words, he’s not really in a state to chase after them and physically stop them. Calico approaches him, a pair of carpenter goggles perched on her head and dish gloves held in her hands. “They’re pretty determined to see this through.” 

Dustin stops as he passes them, explaining, “Steve, you're upset, I get it. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance, and it is our duty to provide that assistance. Now, I know you promised Nance that you would keep us safe.” He pulls out a backpack with Steve’s bat sticking out. “So, keep us safe.”

Calico watches as Steve makes his decision, taking the bag from Dustin with a sigh. The boy walks away, following his friends, and Calico offers Steve a bandana and gloves before pulling on her own and tying the fabric over her nose and mouth. 

“You encourage them too much,” he speaks up, not unkindly, but the weariness in his voice makes her wonder how he was dragged into all of this in the first place. 

Calico casts a glance at him as she pulls her pipe from the trunk and places it in another backpack. “I figured they’ll do what they want with or without us, so we might as well help make sure they don’t get killed in the process.” She slings the bag over her shoulders with a small smile. 

He appears to think that over before nodding once. “Right.” Steve picks up his bat and gives it a twirl. “Let’s go cover their asses.” 

As they walk to the breach together, Calico hears him mumble while pulling his goggles over his eyes, “We are really shitty babysitters.” 

*******

Calico drops down into the cavity before Steve, and when she switches on her flashlight, her stomach immediately churns at the sight before her. 

Dark tendrils crisscross around the perimeter, creating a system of tunnels, just like the ones illustrated in the Byers house. But they don’t have the presence of plant life. They feel different, alive, sure, but also insidious. Just being near them causes goosebumps to break out along Calico’s arms and the back of her neck. 

As she walks towards the kids just ahead, Steve jumps down after her. “Holy shit.”

Mike leads the way, looking at a map drawn on a piece of construction paper with crayon. “Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's this way.” 

“You're pretty sure, or you're certain?” Dustin asks. 

“I'm 100% sure. Just follow me and you'll know.”

Mike begins walking away, and Steve steps towards him with a hand reaching out to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey. I don't think so.”

“What?”

“Any of you little shits die down here, we’re getting the blame.” He gestures to himself and Calico. “Got it, dipshit? From here on out, I'm leading the way.” He takes the map and starts down the tunnel at a quick pace. “Come on, let's go.”

Calico takes up the rear, ensuring all of the kids are behind Steve. With a single unsettled glance back towards the single solitary rope that is their only way in and out, she follows after them, traversing deeper into the strange passage and closer to their goal. 


	9. Chapter 9

Tiny particles float all around them, wispy and numerous; the air is nearly saturated with them. Calico is grateful for the bandana covering her mouth and nose, who knows what the motes might do if they got into their systems. 

She keeps her flashlight fixated on Max’s back, but takes in the atmosphere around her. It’s dark and dank and undoubtedly hostile. It’s eerily quiet besides the frequent ranting and arguing of the boys ahead. The smell is strange too, enough to make her stomach feel weird; something like sulfur, and rotting food, sour and musty, a lot like mold. She prefers the scent of car grease and gas that has seeped into her bandana. 

The anatomy of the tunnels appears infected with disease; sickly vines threaded over and under and across each other. If she looks closely enough, they appear to squirm and pulsate as they pass, as if active and aware of their presence. A heavy shudder rolls over Calico’s body. Nothing about this place is of their world. Just how long has the mind flayer been creating the tunnels? What did it even plan to do with them? 

“So, uh, Calico,” Dustin pipes up from somewhere up ahead, his voice echoing along the walls, “you’ve been pretty chill about all of this.” 

She perks up at his voice, grateful for the distraction. “Like I’ve said, there hasn’t exactly been time to freak out, and it wouldn’t be much use at this point. It’ll probably come sometime after it’s all over.” A weak laugh escapes her. 

“What’ll you do afterwards?” Max wonders curiously. 

Calico takes a moment to consider her answer, sweeping her flashlight across her feet to watch her steps. You’d think it would be simple: return home—whatever is left of it—and continue on the way she always has in order to survive. But she finds herself almost dreading it now, going back. She’s grown so accustomed to being alone that she’s lost any belief that she’s capable of coexisting amongst others. 

But that just isn’t true anymore, is it? 

It was all an accident, a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Calico’s snap decision to help out what she thought were some kids building a fort has led her here—vitalized with knowledge of things beyond her comprehension, things she’s only read in the wildest pieces of fiction. And to people she finds she cares about, would fight with. Fight for. 

“Adjust with the changes, I guess. Hopefully I’ll run into you guys more often.” 

“Aw, we’re growing on her,” Lucas says. 

“Yeah, yeah, she’ll grow tired of you lot soon enough,” Steve declares from the head of the line. 

“I thought you’d want her around the most, Steve,” Mike joins in conspiratorially, “since she fights your fights for you.” 

Steve snaps, “What?” 

Dustin eagerly explains, “While you were getting pummeled by Billy, Cal here took matters into her own hands, and gave Max the opportunity to put him down.” 

“She got hit pretty hard for it too,” Max adds. 

Steve is quiet for a handful of seconds before muttering with feeling, “Shit.” 

“I’m fine,” Calico reassures them with a placating gesture of her hand that they can’t even see. 

“Tell that to the massive bruise on your face,” Max chides, spinning around for a moment to shine her light in Calico’s face. “Billy really got you good.” 

She winces with an agitated “hey!”, blinking hard against the black blobs the light leaves imprinted in her vision until her sight manages to readjust to the dark. 

“His face when she flipped him onto his ass was insane though!” Dustin says, a proud smile in his voice. 

“Yeah, how did you even do that?” Mike wonders. 

“Instinct, I guess.” 

“No way,” Max refutes with a good-natured laugh. “You had to have learned that somewhere. It was badass. And exactly what Billy deserved.” 

Calico scrunches her nose with a small frown. “No. I just wanted him to let me go. Honestly, I was going to just bite and scratch him until he did—“ 

Dustin interrupts, “You’re being weirdly quiet, Steve.” 

“Huh? I, uh, we’re almost there.” He clears his throat as he leads everyone into a wide juncture, pausing to look closely at the map. 

Lucas whispers, “God,” in a mixture of awe and unease. 

“What is this place?” Max wonders aloud. 

“Guys, come on. Keep moving.” Steve trudges forward once more. 

Calico passes by Dustin, who’s paused to gaze around the area. 

“What the hell?” She catches him mutter behind her a mere moment before he releases a scream. 

Calico whips back around, shining her light on the boy flailing on the ground. She kneels down beside him, hands raised but uncertain of what to do. “What’s wrong, Dustin?!” 

“Shit! Help! Help!” 

The others shout in alarm, surrounding their panicking friend. 

“What happened?!” Steve demands, stepping around the kids. 

Dustin whimpers. “It's in my mouth! Some got on my mouth! Shit!” He releases a few wet coughs before pulling down his bandana and spitting on the ground. “I'm okay.” 

“You serious?” Max grumbles as everyone turns around to continue their trek. 

“Hang on,” Dustin says as he pushes himself to his feet and jogs to catch up. “Wait, wait for me.” 

The further in they tread past the junction, the wider the tunnel becomes, until it opens up to another intersection of tunnels, but this one is larger than the last, with a sort of stump made up of thick vines in the middle of the space. 

Steve gives the map one last glance. “All right, Wheeler. I think we found your hub.” 

The boy nods, taking off his backpack. “Drench it.” 

Everyone else does the same, taking out canisters of gasoline before beginning to spray the vines down, drenching them with the flammable liquid. The smell stings Calico’s nose, but thankfully they work together quickly to saturate the hub. 

They all stand together clustered at the tunnel they arrived through, and Steve pulls a lighter from his jacket. “You ready?” 

Everyone gives the affirmative, and Dustin says, “Light her up.” 

Without further delay, Steve tosses the lighter into the hub, and it ignites in a bright display of red and orange, hot angry flames swelling fast and consuming the space. 

Calico doesn’t have to be told to start running when Steve points towards the way they came, him taking the lead with the map in hand once more. 

“Go, go, go!”

They all move much quicker than the first time around, not wanting to stick around and see just what setting the place on fire will do exactly. Their pace accelerates as Steve guides them, only occasionally slowing slightly to check the map. 

A yelp comes from behind Calico, and when she peers over her shoulder, she sees Mike on the ground, wrestling with a vine. Immediately she stops and drops to her knees next to him, tugging at the obstacle. 

“Guys!” She shouts as Mike cries, “Help me!” 

The others rush back, exclaiming, “Mike!” 

They prepare to pull the boy, but Steve waves them away, demanding, “Back! Everybody back!”

Calico rises to her feet as he pulls his bat from his backpack and begins slamming it against the vine. It squelches grossly under the impact, until eventually it is severed in two. Mike shoves the appendage off of him and scrambles to his feet, pulled up by Lucas and Dustin. 

“Are you alright?” She consoles, pointing her flashlight at his afflicted leg. It appears alright on the surface, and he’s standing perfectly fine, but who knows what kind of damage those things could do. Apparently setting the tunnel core ablaze set the vines off somehow, made them frenzied and violent. They need to hurry. She doesn’t want to consider what could happen if all of the vines adopt the same behavior. 

A low growl winds its way through the tunnel, and Calico’s entire body stiffens. She carefully steps back with the others, facing the sound. A demo-dog prowls out of the darkness from the tunnel they need to get to, and approaches them, only stopping when Dustin seems to recognize the creature and shuffles forward in front of everyone. 

“Dustin,” Calico hisses, wanting to reach out and grab the boy, but Steve beats her to it, placing a hand on his shoulder as the others begs him at once to stop and be careful. 

Dustin merely requests, “Trust me, please.” Steve hesitantly releases him, allowing him to move towards the creature. “Hey.” He tugs down his bandana and pushes up the goggles. “It's me. It's just your friend, it's Dustin. You remember me?” He slowly kneels down in front of the demo-dog. “Will you let us pass?” 

At the snarl it gives with its rows and rows of teeth on display, everyone jumps in place, releasing small gasps. Calico watches, equally terrified and intrigued. He  knows this creature? 

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do.” He pulls his backpack off and pulls out a candy bar of all things. “You hungry? I've got our favorite. See? Nougat.” He peels off the wrapper and places it on the ground before the creature. It lowers its seedling pod head and gives a sniff, and begins eating the chocolate. “Yummy. Here, all right? Eat up, buddy.” 

Dustin lifts his hand and waves everyone to quickly pass the demo-dog while it’s distracted. 

“Let's go,” Steve urges Calico, nudging her shoulder with his own to prompt her into moving ahead of him. 

Dustin finally stands, and with one last look at the creature, he says, “Goodbye, buddy.” 

Everyone moves together, sticking close, when a heavy tremor shakes the tunnels, sending them all stumbling to the ground and into the walls as they lose their footing. 

An ominous roar suddenly bellows through the air, and Max sputters in alarm, “What is that?” 

Another roar thunders through the tunnels, somehow closer and more numerous like an echo stacked upon other echoes. 

“They’re coming,” Mike warns, stunned. He points the opposite direction furiously. “Run!” 

No one needs to be told twice, everyone nearly tripping over each other as they sprint to the exit. Calico desperately searches for the rope they dropped in on, her breaths fast and heavy. 

“There!” Lucas exclaims, pointing ahead at a well of light illuminating the single thick rope that is their salvation. 

“Alright! Go!” Steve instructs, clapping his hands and assisting the kids up the rope. “Come on!”

“Hurry!” Calico supports their legs as they slither up as quickly as they can, pulling each other out until it is just her and Steve. 

Steve looks at her, holding his arms out and nodding towards the rope. “You go next.” 

She doesn’t argue as she grips the rope, but she doesn’t even have the chance to begin climbing when the shrieks and howls break out right around the corner. Calico freezes and looks at the end of the tunnel. Shadows rush past, several at once, and her heart drops into her stomach. 

“Guys! Hurry!”

“They’re coming!”

“Come on!” 

The kids all scream in fear as they watch the two remaining teens stare as the herd of demo-dogs hurdles towards them. Steve holds his bat in front of them, but the moment the creatures get close, he drops it and wraps his arms around Calico, turning his back to them to take the brunt of their inevitable attack. 

Calico buries her face into his shoulder, arms wrapped under his and grasping at his shoulders so tightly she’s certain it hurts. A shuddered sob escapes her clenched teeth, and she waits to be torn to shreds. 

There’s no pain. 

There is, however, an odd brushing against her legs, bumping into her and Steve and nearly sending them tumbling. She dares to raise her head, and her mouth drops.  The demo-dogs are running right past them, ignoring them entirely and rushing around them like water around a rock.  Calico lifts her gaze to look at Steve, who is clearly just as shocked as she is. His hands rest at her hips to keep her steady until the flow of creatures dwindles. 

“Holy shit,” he rasps, unable to hold back the dumbfounded smile that cracks at his lips. 

She’s incapable of not returning a grin of her own, a small laugh of disbelief tumbling out of her throat. “How are we alive?” 

“Eleven,” Mike reveals from above, where he and the others peek their heads over the hole. 

“Come on, let’s get the hell out of here,” Steve says, directing her to the rope. She begins pulling herself up, assisted by Steve’s arms wrapping around her legs and lifting her as she climbs.  The kids grip her arms and help tug her up and out, letting her roll over the edge and into the grass where she lies for a handful of seconds. Steve easily lifts himself out, offering Calico a hand that she accepts and is pulled to her feet. 

The car behind them is still shining its headlights, suddenly glaring after being in the dark for so long. But, strangely, the lights seem to pulse, growing brighter and stronger until Calico’s eyes water, forcing her to turn away.  As quickly as it came, however, it fades away back to normal, leaving everyone stunned. 

Calico pulls her bandana off of her mouth and nose to hang around her neck, and slides the goggles over her head to hang from her fingers. “Did she do it?” She finally breaks the silence, her voice sounding soft in the chill of the early morning air. “Is the gate closed?” 

Mike looks at her. “There’s only one way to find out.” 


	10. Chapter 10

The bruises take up a large portion of the right side of her face; spanning from the sore bridge of her nose, nostrils crusted with blood, across her entire cheekbone, puffing the underside of her eye and coloring the flesh a deep purple and blue. It doesn’t look pretty, but at least her eye isn’t swollen shut. 

After reconvening back at the Byer’s residence, Calico was pretty quick to remove herself from their emotional reunion, feeling somehow awkward and out of place. Shutting herself in the bathroom seemed like the best option at the moment, which gave her the opportunity to assess the damage she’s received from what has to have been the most eventful night of her life. 

She runs a washcloth beneath the sink faucet, using cold water to hopefully help the swelling go down a little. It stings when she presses it to her face, grimacing until she gets used to it. 

I’ll have to leave eventually , she thinks.  Preferably before any law enforcement arrives . Hopper hasn’t had any issue with her this entire time, but, then again, they’ve had bigger problems to deal with. He might change his tune now that the worst danger is over. Tangling with the law isn’t something Calico does often, but since she’s close by, they just might take the chance to snag her. 

Calico’s eyes drift to the window next to the toilet, and calculates how easily she could get through it, then considers how long it would take to reach the junkyard and the little truck she calls home without raising any alarms. 

A knock at the door jars her, and her hand nudges a bit too hard against her face, inciting a gentle groan. 

“Calico?” 

She freezes, staring at the door. Maybe if she’s quiet enough they’ll go away. 

There’s a sigh from the other side. “I know you’re in there.” 

The washcloth drops from her hand and onto the edge of the sink with a wet  plop! There goes her silent escape. 

Calico unlocks the door and cracks it open, peering out with one eye. 

Steve stands in the hallway, arms crossed, and an eyebrow rises in curiosity as he takes her in. “You okay in there?” 

“Yes,” she replies, a little too quickly she realizes belatedly. 

He frowns slightly, tilting his head. “You sure? You’ve been in there for awhile. I thought you’d ran off.” 

If only he knew. 

“Um, I’m fine.” She squints her eyes in a halfhearted smile, and cringes at the ache it pulses across her face. 

Steve’s eyes narrow, and he suddenly rushes her, pushing the door open so quickly she has to jump back so it doesn’t hit her. 

“Rude,” she grumbles, rubbing her palms over her thighs to dry off her hands. 

“Your face...” he mutters, fingers reaching out to brush the tender flesh blossoming in colors of purple and blue. 

Calico catches his hand in hers with a wince, drawing it away as an ache flares from his touch. “Have you even seen yourself?” She laughs lightly, careful not to scrunch her nose too much. 

He shrugs. “Yeah, well, I’d rather it be me than you any day.” 

She wants to smile at his chivalrous intentions, but instead she admits, “I’d much prefer you to avoid getting your face beaten in if at all possible.” 

“I will if you do.” 

“Hey, I only did it to keep you from getting your face turned into pulp.” 

“I, uh, never did thank you for that.” His gaze drops as he pushes his hands through his hair. 

Calico shrugs her shoulders, offering a genuine gentle smile. “I guess you just did.” 

Steve looks at her, and something unreadable crosses his features. “You’re planning on leaving, aren’t you?”

She gapes at him, and makes the mistake of glancing at the window. “Um—“

“You don’t have to go back, you know. To living alone. I meant what I said before. It isn’t good for anyone to be alone for so long.” 

“Where else would I go?” She chuckles nervously. “Also, I wouldn’t exactly be in isolation, anyone can visit me. I’m not leaving Hawkins.” 

“That isn’t what I mean.” 

“Then what do you mean, Steve?” She props her hip against the sink, wrapping her arms around herself. She’d taken off her jacket a short while ago once the house started warming up, having instead tied it around her waist. 

He pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, only to immediately realize his mistake and grunt at the pain. “Ow. Shit.” 

“Take it easy,” Calico clucks in exasperation, picking up the washcloth and rinsing it before moving his hands out of the way to press it gently to his face. 

“Anyone here would gladly take you in,” He continues. “You helped us when you didn’t have to, possibly sacrificing your carefully crafted urban legend status in the process. You’re known now, Cal. Not just some ghost story. We’re not gonna forget you—or let you fade away.” 

Unbidden and entirely unexpected, tears sting her eyes, prickle her nose, and she blinks a couple times to keep them at bay, though she’s certain her gaze is still growing noticeably glossy. “Here, hold this.” She picks up his hand and uses it to hold the cloth to his own bruises before turning around to rub lightly at her eyes. Her shoulders are hunched, and she bites down on her lip to hold down the tightness in her throat. 

“Cal?” Steve murmurs behind her. 

Why did he have to come in here? Why did she let him? Why did she let him speak to her like she’s broken, like she needs saving? Why did she let him into her heart?  Why ? 

A hand rests on her shoulder and gently tugs to turn her around. “Hey.” 

Calico cinches her lips together as she spins back around to face him, face as blank as she can make it.  Don’t let him see, don’t let him notice the conflict behind your eyes , she coaches herself. 

Steve isn't much taller than her, so they nearly see eye-to-eye. From this close, Calico can faintly make out tiny light brown freckles and beauty marks scattered across the bridge of his slender nose and along the apples of his cheeks. Like a game of connect the dots, the tip of her nail lightly traces from one to the next, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows as she concentrates on that rather than meet his eyes. Her palm catches his warm breath as he breathes through parted lips. She stops where the purpling of his bruised cheekbone is darkest. The swelling has gone down a little bit, but she fears even the lightest of touches will hurt him. When she lowers her hand something crosses his face, and he purses his lips, stretching the split there. Calico shakes her head, and it's automatic that she stops him from causing himself any more pain; the pad of her thumb glides over his bottom lip, smoothing out the pinched skin. It slides out from between his teeth, leaving his lips parted. 

“You don’t need to worry about me,” she assures him softly, though her voice wobbles, and she fixates her gaze on the wall over his shoulder as she attempts to get a grip of her emotions. 

Steve stares at her, his eyes almost like a physical burning weight. He drops the washcloth, his hand instead cupping her chin, fingers extending across her jaw. The touch is light, gentle, leaving more than enough room to move away. 

But that’s the last thing Calico finds she wants. 

Her eyes squeeze shut as she tilts her head into his touch, bottom lip quivering. 

Then there’s a swell of warmth, a soft pressure against her mouth. A watery eye peeks open, and Steve is there, so close; her face flares with heat, and she jerks back, eyes wide. 

Steve stares at her, uncertain, even a little bashful. “I—“ 

Her hand finds his shoulder and pulls him back in, lips returning to his. She’s careful about it, not wanting to hurt him, but this feeling, it’s weird and addictive and makes her feel so heated; it’s a churning in her belly that almost feels like nausea, but it springs goosebumps all over her body. At the same time her heart is moving at a speed she’s only ever felt while running as fast as she possibly can. 

Steve, in turn, is very responsive; his free hand rests on her waist, gradually sliding to her back to pull her closer. He tilts her chin up and slants his mouth over hers, gently coaxing her to follow his movements. 

Calico takes the chance to slip her arm around his neck, fingers curling into his hair as her lips familiarize with his; their shape, their plushness, their  taste. 

His fingers press lightly into her side, and she jerks away with a small huff of laughter at the tickling sensation. A single tear manages to escape her eye, but she smiles, authentic and bright, and maybe a little timid, but Steve just looks at her with this soft expression, his thumb caressing her cheek. “I think I’ll always worry about you at this point, kitten.” 

Calico’s cheeks flare up all over again at the pet name, unable to look him in the eye. She can just feel his smug grin as he pulls her in and wraps his arms around her as tightly as he dares. Chin propped on his shoulder, her own arms curl under his and grip at his back.  They remain like this for an unspecified amount of time, and Calico figures they’d still be locked in the embrace if Nancy didn’t round the corner. 

She’s frozen for only a moment, and that gives Calico time to smoothly detach herself from Steve and give him space. He looks a little confused until he hears Nancy’s throat clearing behind him and turns around. 

“You two alright in here?” The way she says it makes it evident that she’s clearly aware they’re both perfectly fine. She seems a little bashful that she walked in on an intimate exchange, but Calico supposes they’ve been in here for quite some time. She figured she wouldn’t be missed, but Steve is a different story. 

“Ah, yeah, we’re good,” Steve replies, scratching at his neck. 

“Well, you might want to stop hogging the bathroom. Everyone is getting worried that youdisappeared in here.” She smiles at Calico, entirely innocuous and kind. The initial surprise of catching them kissing has apparently passed. 

Calico returns a small grin of her own before looking at Steve. He takes her in before wrapping his hand around hers. “Well, we don’t wanna disappoint them.” 


	11. Chapter 11

Calico is led by Steve back out into the living room where everyone has gathered to take a rest now that they all can breathe a little easier without the threat of imminent destruction looming over their heads. 

Joyce, Jonathan, and Will sit on the couch, the latter tucked into his mother’s side in a fresh set of clothes. Nancy settles herself on the arm next to Jonathan. 

“Ah, there she is!” 

Dustin grins at her from his place sitting on the floor with his back up against the wall with Mike, El, Lucas, and Max. 

Steve grabs two of the dining room chairs and spins them around to face the living room, guiding Calico to sit in one while he takes the other. 

“Rough night, kiddo?” The quip comes from Hopper who appears behind them, walking around them to enter the living room. 

She warily watches him as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed before answering quietly, “Not nearly as rough as what I imagine you all dealt with.” Her eyes stray to El whose head is resting on Mike’s shoulder, looking like she’s about to fall asleep at any moment while the other kids whisper to one another. 

“She’s a tough one.” 

“I can tell.” 

“You’ve all done good tonight,” he says, gaze fixed on her, and she’s shocked that the praise includes her too. 

Calico isn’t sure what to say, but it would seem she won’t have the chance to. 

In the distance, her ears pick up a high pitched whining. She immediately tenses, and Steve places his hand over hers, leaning over to murmur in her ear, “Hop has it handled. He won’t let anyone take you in. We’re all just gonna be asked a few questions. That’s all.” 

Her anxiety doesn’t lessen much at his reassurance, but she remains seated, stiff as the sirens grow closer, and the flashing red and blue lights cut through the windows in a glaring fashion. 

Several officers enter, more than what she believes even work in Hawkins. She notices some of them aren’t even police; a few people in suits walk inside, and a couple in military fatigues step in as well. No one gets up, evidently already having been informed by Hopper what would happen once the authorities arrived. 

A few medics soon arrive to the scene and enter the house as well, giving everyone a quick examination and handing out blankets. Calico and Steve have the wounds on their faces treated, though El and Will are the only ones to receive more thorough treatment. 

Calico watches as Hopper and Joyce explain the events of the night in a way they’ll understand, providing the location of the entrance to the tunnels and informing them of the evidence of the tear inside of Hawkins Lab. 

From there, everything becomes a blur, fast and overwhelming. Without sleep for over 24 hours at this point, everyone is clearly drained both physically and mentally, and the bombardment of expectations for cooperation and questions for information burns everyone out all the more. 

Calico keeps a close eye on the kids, moving at one point to sit next to them and keep them busy while everything is sorted out. 

“How are you guys doing?” She asks, crossing her legs in an effort to get a little comfortable. 

“I just wanna go home and sleep,” Lucas admits, leaning his head back against the wall. 

“Same,” Max yawns, collapsing against Calico’s side, her head resting against her shoulder. “Wait. That would mean seeing Billy again, and I’ll have to explain to my mom where I’ve been all night.” She cringes. 

“Ugh.” Dustin presses his hands to his eyes. “We’re all gonna be grounded for, like, a month.” 

“What are we even supposed to tell our families?” Lucas wonders. 

“Isn’t that part of their job?” Calico gestures at the group of suits clustered in the dining room around Joyce and Hopper. “To cover up top-secret info?” 

“Probably,” Dustin agrees. “It’s pretty much the same thing that happened the first time a tear was opened to the Upside-Down.” He pulls off his hat and ruffles his hand through his curls. “Those agents are gonna want to talk to us again, just like last time.” 

“Hawkins is gonna become the new Area-51,” Mike mutters from his spot, eyes closed. El appears to be dozing against him, and Calico wonders just how much more difficult this all has been on her. There’s still so little she knows about her, about any of these kids, really, and the toll these events may have had on them—she can’t begin to fathom. 

*******

Eventually, everyone is individually interviewed in the kitchen, and, unfortunately, Calico is one of the last to be seen. The only plus side is that the kids have been able to go home and finally get the rest they need. Even Steve leaves, but only at her firm insistence that he needs rest too, and assurance that she’ll be fine. 

The interview is surprisingly simple, and Calico is grateful that Hopper insists on sticking around. Questions of her involvement and her experience of the events are easy enough to answer, likely to ensure her statement correlates with the others’. 

“I believe that’s all we need from you,” the agent informs her, closing her notebook with a smile that doesn’t reach her perceptive eyes.

Calico nods, beginning to stand, when the woman quickly adds, “If I could just get a full name, phone number, and address to contact you if needed?” 

The girl stares at the agent, blinking before looking towards the door where the chief stands just outside. “I don’t have a phone,” she stutters. 

“Sure we do, kid,” Hopper steps inside, looking from Calico to the agent. “Her address is the same as mine and Jane’s. Phone number too.”

A fine wrinkle pulls between the agent’s brows before she writes it all down beneath Calico’s statement. “And her full name?” 

Hopper pauses, sucking at his teeth before responding, “Cali Hopper.” He holds his hand out for Calico, who moves towards him, confused by his interference but grateful all the same.

“Cali Hopper?” She echoes, unable to keep the small amused grin off of her face. 

“It has a ring to it. Don’t you think?” Hopper smiles down at her.

Calico’s smile slowly fades as she stops in the living room. “Why’d you help me?” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” 

She shrugs, wrapping her arms around herself. “I’m an outcast. A vagabond. A minor who has been homeless for years. And you’re the chief of the Hawkins Police Department, yet you’re helping me? You’ve had a long time and many opportunities to catch me and put me into the system. But you never did.” 

He sighs, resting his hands on his hips. “You’re harmless, and I’ve seen that you’re capable of taking care of yourself in ways most people couldn’t. You’re resourceful, and you’ve never caused trouble. Most people don’t even know you exist, and you keep to yourself, I never found it necessary to intervene when you were doing perfectly fine. I always made sure of it.” 

Calico frowns. “What do you mean?” 

“Do you really think I would let a kid roam around on their own without helping out where I could?” 

It suddenly dawns on her. “You left the donations.” 

“Most of them, yeah.” He runs a hand down his face, lowering his voice. “Now that the government is involved though, it might not be safe anymore to, you know, just wander.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You don’t need to be an outcast if you don’t want to be, Calico. You can stay. With me and El—“ he glances around at any potential eavesdroppers, “er, Jane.” 

She stares up at him as something remarkably jubilant and elated and  _grateful_ overcomes her, drawing tears to her eyes. “Really?” She whispers. 

“I mean, yeah.” He nods, his expression softening at the tears that manage to escape and roll down her cheeks. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go home.” 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little filler chapter until the plot starts picking up the pace again. ✌🏽

In the span of a month, Calico’s life has changed in ways she never anticipated. She has friends, a home, a  _family._ When Hopper came home one day with two envelopes containing official birth certificates for both herself and El, she cried harder than she ever remembered. It all still feels like a dream most days, as if it will all simply vanish in a wisp of smoke, and she’ll find herself huddled alone in her truck. 

Often times she finds herself doubting if she even deserves this. She was doing fine on her own after all. But when both Hopper and El adjust their lives to include her, even in the most mundane things like making sure her favorite type of breakfast food is stocked, and giving her space and time to grow accustomed to such a big change, she realizes they actually want her around. 

El has been especially incredible; when she finds out that Calico has been invited to live with her and Hopper, she expresses absolute delight at the prospect of having a roommate. She’s eager to help Calico reorganize the room to fit in her own furniture and decorate the space. It’s a tight fit, but the cabin wasn’t exactly designed to be big and roomy. 

Calico’s half of the room is decorated with a few of her sculptures that she decided to bring along with her, her favorite being the button wall she completed the day she met the kids at the junkyard. Most of her personal belongings are retrieved the day following Hopper’s offer, so she’s given time to settle quickly. 

The first night she sleeps in an actual house on an actual bed with an actual roof over her head, she cries herself to sleep. El slides into bed with her and rubs her shoulder, forehead against hers until Calico dozes off with pink cheeks and a smile at her lips. 

*******

“So cute,” Calico compliments, looking over El’s shoulder into the mirror. The younger girl is primped and dolled up for a seasonal dance at the local middle school that her friends are attending. She doesn’t go to the school, but she was invited all the same. Generally, Hopper doesn’t let her go anywhere for obvious reasons, and since she seems to be a magnet for trouble he prefers to keep her close to home and out of harms way. But tonight, he’s given her permission to go to this dance, and Calico doesn’t think she’s ever seen someone glitter with such excitement before. 

“You ready, kiddo?” Hopper knocks on the door. 

“Yes,” El responds with a nod, giving herself one last look over. “I’m ready.” 

Calico helps her slide on a jacket before opening the door where Hopper waits with his truck keys in his hand. 

“Have fun,” Calico says with a wave as they exit, locking the door behind them. 

With them gone, the cabin is silent, and Calico decides to read one of the books she borrowed from the library. Having an address now meant she was able to apply for a library card, and while the address technically belongs to Hopper’s actual residence in town that isn’t situated in the middle of the woods, it works all the same. 

She’s just settled in and begun a new chapter when there’s a knock at the door. Her shoulders bunch up in alarm, and she freezes, wondering if it was simply something being shifted in the wind outside. When it comes again she slowly stands up and inches towards the door. Hopper told her about the patterned knock that signifies it’s him, and to not unlock the door unless she hears that special knock. 

“Cal? It’s Steve.”

She frowns, unlocking then pulling the door open. He stands on the porch with a plastic bag, smiling at her before shaking the bag. “What are you doing here?” She doesn’t mean to sound so alarmed. “I mean, how did you even get here?” 

His smile drops. “I, uh—Hopper told me where you all live now. For our benefit probably.” He gestures between them with a finger. 

“Oh.” She steps aside. “Okay.” As he walks inside, she shuts the door, saying, “You could have called to let me know you were coming.” She laughs lightly, fingers tugging at her oversized shirt. 

“Yeah, I probably should have.” He nods, placing the bag on the couch. “Wasn’t exactly planning to just barge in on you though.” 

“Why did you? Not that I’m not glad you’re here. I am. It can get pretty creepy out here alone.” 

“You literally lived by yourself on the streets for years.” 

“But not out in the middle of the woods!” 

He nods. “Fair point.” Steve turns to the bag and begins rifling through it. “So, I brought some movies and candy. I’m not sure what you’re into so I bought a variety.” 

Calico steps closer, peering around his arm and into the bag as he shuffles everything around. He pulls out handfuls of VHS tapes and candies and places them on the coffee table. She only just watched her first full-length movie a couple weeks ago, and she was enthralled. It was The Wizard of Oz, and it was immediately designated as her favorite. 

“There’s a couple comedies, a couple horror, and a couple sci-fi. What’ll it be?” Steve looks at her, watching as she picks each one up and carefully examines their cases, thoroughly reading the synopsis on the back. Finally, she points to the one that intrigues her the most: Star Wars: Return of The Jedi. “Star Wars it is!” Steve pops the tape from the case and slides it into the VHS player. 

While he prepares the TV, Calico looks over the assortment of candy. Gummies, skittles, m&m’s, twizzlers, and a few chocolate bars are her options. She plucks up the bag of m&m’s, tearing open the package and popping one into her mouth. She releases a small satisfied moan at the taste on her tongue. 

“That good?” Steve laughs as he grabs the remote and sits down beside her. 

“I’ve never had these before.” She looks into the bag at the different colors. 

“You have had chocolate before though, right? At some point?” 

“Mhm.” She places another in her mouth. “A few times, usually during holidays. People were always more generous then.” 

“So, you like chocolate. I’ll keep that in mind.” He grins at her before grabbing the twizzlers and ripping open the bag as the previews play across the screen. 

“What for?”

He looks at her, eyes sliding away before explaining, “For your birthday, of course.” 

Calico shifts in her seat, suddenly embarrassed. 

Steve turns to her. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know when my birthday is...” 

His eyebrows jump up his forehead before scrunching together. “You don’t know how old you are?” 

“I do! I’m seventeen, and should be eighteen next month—January, I think. I just don’t know what day exactly. It says January 20th on my birth certificate. The one Hopper has for me, but it was a guess based on what I told him.” She self-consciously twirls her finger in the bag of m&m’s, picking one out and squeezing it between her fingers until the candied shell cracks. 

Warm fingers catch hers, and smooth over her knuckles. “Well, now I know when to start planning your party,” he teases with a grin. 

“I don’t think a party would really be my scene.” But she smiles at his intentions all the same. 

“Just you and me then.” Steve places their candy back on the table. “What would you wanna do?” 

She watches his fingers glide between hers, threading them together. “Do?” 

“Yeah, where would you want to go? Bowling? Dancing? Skating? Out to a fancy dinner?” 

Calico’s cheeks warm, and she lifts her gaze to the television screen. “I like this. What we’re doing now. Just sitting together watching a movie and eating candy.” It may be simple, but it works for her. She’s never been a complex sort of girl, small things satisfy her, and that likely isn’t to change just because she no longer lives on the streets. 

Steve nods, adjusting in his seat to scoot closer to her, resting their clasped hands on his leg. “I like this too.” He presses a tender kiss to her temple. 

*******

Calico discovers that she really enjoys sci-fi movies, and Steve promises to show her the other two films in the trilogy. 

Their next movie is a horror, Calico doesn’t like those quite as much. They don’t frighten her by any means, but the gratuitous amounts of blood and screaming starts to annoy her not even half way in. Not to mention she’s been growing drowsy since before it even started. Her eyes fight to stay open, but every blink is more difficult, until she finally just allows her eyes to stay shut. 

“Cal.” A light shake of her shoulder stirs her eyes back open. Steve looks down at her from where she as her head resting against his shoulder. She blinks blearily at him. “Come on. You need to get to bed.” He helps her up, guiding her into her room and settling her into bed.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she slurs as he pulls her blanket over her. 

“No worries.” He bends down and kisses her forehead. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” 

“Thank you, Steve.”

“Night, Cal.” 

The moment the light is shut off, she’s out again. 


	13. Chapter 13

The new year has arrived, and Calico still can’t believe just how much has changed for her in the past few months. Her entire life has taken a 180 spin it seems, and often times she still finds herself waiting for it all to disappear as if some kind of carefully crafted mirage. 

She recently had her first real Christmas that she can recall, and it was the most wonderful experience. Hopper pulled all the stops for both her and El; a tree was bought and decorated, stockings were hung up, they watched Christmas specials on TV, baked holiday goodies, and, of course, exchanged presents. 

The Byers invited them to their home for Christmas dinner, and Calico quickly decided that she enjoys being around the Byers; they’ve been kind and have no issue with her joining Hopper and El’s family. Joyce’s sons have been happy to befriend Calico, eager to include her and make her feel welcome. During her first visit to their home after the incident, Will taught her how to playbhis favorite game, Dungeons and Dragons, and Jonathan let her look through a photo book of his work—he’s really quite good with a camera. 

Ultimately, there has been little to no talk of the events that occurred a couple months ago, and Calico has been perfectly fine with putting it all behind them. 

Until the nightmares begin. 

*******

Calico wakes up in an unfamiliar place. She’s still in her bed, the blankets tucked around her. But she is definitely not in her and El’s shared bedroom. This space, it’s an inky black that stretches seemingly forever. It should be impossible to see in this kind of darkness, but somehow she’s able to make out each and every detail of her bed as if the glow of a spotlight is hanging directly above her. When she looks up, however, there is nothing but more blackness. It’s as if she’s been transported into a void. 

How did she get here?

_Where_ is here?

“El?” She calls out while pushing herself into a sitting position, because perhaps her sister has been brought here as well. 

But there’s no response but the echo of her own voice bouncing off of the darkness. 

Calico peels the blankets off of herself and slowly slides her legs to hang off of the bed. With the patience of someone with all the time in the world, she gradually presses a single foot into the odd surface that has the appearance of a floor flooded with water. Ripples break out and spread at the disturbance, but when her foot meets solid ground, she places the other down as well. The liquid doesn’t even reach her ankles, but she still exhibits caution as she slowly stands up. Her oversized t-shirt falls to her knees, and she has the strange realization that her socks aren’t even wet. Bending down, she skims her fingers across the surface of the liquidspanning the ground. It doesn’t feel like anything, as if it isn’t even really there. 

Movement catches her attention beneath her, an odd wavering of color and shapes under the water. As if there is a large screen attached to the ground, a picture begins to form, undulating slightly with the motion of the water. Calico watches as the image clears, forming a coherent view of a large place. She makes out large pieces of equipment, appearing rusted and dusty and worn with age. A factory of some kind? 

“What is this?” She whispers, intrigued, eyes squinting as the image begins to move like a TV program, panning around the dim room. Then there’s a sound, a low sort of grumbling that makes the hair on the back of her neck prickle. The screen goes still again, only this time it is facing the ceiling of the building, also fallen into disrepair. Calico leans in slightly, her eyes trying to find whatever makes this image significant. 

A flash of dark massive malformed limbs, rows of vicious teeth, and a piercing  roar that makes Calico’s heart stop bursts forth, slamming into the screen with power and intent as if it is merely a window—a single pane of glass—separating them. 

Calico shrieks loudly, throwing herself back and into her bed frame. The metal digs into her back, but she doesn’t feel the ache as she scrambles back into the mattress, tucking every inch of her body as far away from the creature as possible. 

There’s silence once more. Besides her own unsteady panting breaths, Calico doesn’t hear anything. 

_What the hell?_

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” she whimpers, arms wrapped around herself tight. With no other solution in mind, Calico returns herself beneath her blanket, burrowing herself away from the screen and the weird space. 

_Tap. _

She squeezes the fabric over herself, feeling her pulse continue to thrum rapidly.  _I want to go home_, she pleads. 

_Tap. Tap. Tap. _

Calico figures if she can fall back to sleep, she’ll eventually wake up again in her own room. Maybe return the way she got there to begin with. 

_Tap. Tap. _

Every muscle is wound tightly, tense with fear, and she’s trembling so hard her teeth are chattering. It’s silent again.  Is it gone? Calico hopes the creature went back to wherever it came from as she carefully lifts the blanket just enough to take a deep breath. 

“Cal!” El desperately calls out, distressed, sounding both faraway and nearby, an echo of her voice. 

Calico gasps and sits up, throwing her blanket off once more to respond to her sister—

—and she freezes as all of her blood drains from her face. It’s even possible that her heart has stopped altogether. 

Rows and rows of deadly fangs hover above her, attached to the opened maw of a nightmare. Long-limbed and shaped like nothing natural, leaning over her bed, in her face. 

Calico stares, mouth agape, tears blurring her eyes as she stares in pure unfiltered terror, unable to move, unable to look away. 

The creature sways in place, tilting its strange coned head as if taking in her fear, absorbing it, smelling it,  consuming it. An odd distorted sound akin to a snake’s hiss oozes out of its mouth as thick strings of saliva dribbles from its teeth and into her blanket. There’s no eyes, no nose, just the appearance of raw meat smushed and molded together to form this  thing , with lots and lots of deadly sharp teeth. It’s nothing Calico could ever form or fathom even in the darkest pits of her mind, not even after all she’s witnessed. 

_Just what the hell is it...?_

When it strikes she isn’t ready, looping one of its limbs around her throat and squeezing mercilessly. 

A sharp scream like she’s never heard bursts from her lungs, and she’s released from her horror-induced paralysis, clutching at the appendage around her neck and yanking, digging her nails in deeply. She flails in an attempt to loosen its hold, legs kicking and torso thrashing, but she’s already unable to breathe, and shrieking has only expelled more oxygen from her lungs. 

Calico gasps shallowly, pulling with renewed and desperate effort as heavy tears flood down her cheeks and her eyes explode with black stars. Her lungs are on fire, feeling as if they’ll collapse on themselves. Gradually, her struggling grows weaker as her body begins to fail her, the pulse at her throat emphasized by her body’s attempt to keep her alive. But she’s losing this fight, and when her arms and hands and legs grow numb, she releases one last pathetic wheeze before the creature descends with its razed-toothed mouth opened wide, and everything goes dark. 

*******

“Calico!” 

A loud agonized gasp fills her ears, refilling her achingly empty lungs, and the moment they are full, she lets out an ear-piercing scream. Arms are still wound around her, holding her down, and she wildly thrashes about, attempting to dislodge their hold on her. There’s a grunt as she makes impact with something, and they back off for only a moment before they return with renewed effort, pinning her shoulders while her legs are pressed down upon. 

“Cal! It’s Hopper! Calm down! It’s just a nightmare!”

Calico goes still, her body still trembling heavily with adrenaline and anxiety. “H-Hopper?” Her voice sounds pathetically small and hoarse, her throat incredibly sore. 

“Open your eyes, kid. You’re okay.”

Fresh tears escape her eyes as she manages to peel them open, taking note of the soft lamplight illuminating the room. Her room. El’s room. She’s home. 

It was a dream. 

Her shoulders and legs are released as she takes in a very ruffled Hopper, hair a mess as if he jumped straight out of bed, which he very well must have if the darkness beyond the window curtain is any indication. She also notes the bloodied nose he now sports. 

A soft crying catches her attention from the end of her bed. Craning her head up, she sees El by her legs with red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. Calico sits up, her entire body feeling strangely weak and shaky, before crawling to her sister and cradling her against her chest as quiet sobs of her own build in her throat. 

Hopper sits on the edge of the bed beside the two girls, running a hand down his face as he releases a heavy sigh. “Are you alright, Cal?” He asks gently. “That must have been one hell of a dream.”

“It was a nightmare,” she explains tremulously with a short nod, swallowing with discomfort. “But it felt so real. I thought I—“ she takes a trembling breath— “I thought I was dying.” 

Hopper’s brow creases deeply in concern. “Do you normally have night terrors like this?”

“No never. And I remember every bit of it. Is it normal to remember a dream so vividly?” 

“I don’t know.” He carefully places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly in comfort. “But if they keep happening, let me know. You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

Calico nods, a fresh wave of tears glossing her eyes. She nuzzles her face into El’s hair as Hopper affectionately pats her arm and stands, leaving the two girls alone in their room. 

“You’re okay?” El mumbles against Calico’s shoulder, her shirt wet with the younger girl’s tears. 

She nods, turning to press her cheek against the crown of El’s head. “I think so. Not sure if I’ll get back to sleep tonight though.” 

El loosens her hold and leans back to look her in the face. “I’ll lay with you. We can talk. Will that help?” 

Calico offers a wavering smile. “I think it might.”

*******

“I’ve never had a dream that I remembered so clearly,” Calico remarks, her arm tucked beneath her head as she lies on her side, facing El. The younger girl is curled by her side, listening attentively. They both should be asleep, seeing as it’s nearly two in the morning, but they’re both riding the remains of adrenaline—Calico’s fueled by fear and El’s by worry—and can’t even manage to shut their eyes for longer than a few moments. “I actually thought that I was there. I tried calling out for you, wondering if you were somehow there too.” She releases a weak laugh, realizing how ridiculous it sounds now. 

“Where were you?” El wonders. 

Calico recalls the odd environment she was in, “It was this massive place—I don’t know how big it was, actually. It looked like it went on forever. But it was the blackest black, like I was trapped in an eight-ball or something. The ground looked like it was covered in water...” She shakes her head to collect her thoughts. “It was really weird.” 

El watches her, the deep brown of her eyes incredibly perceptive, and her features appear to smooth out as her expression goes blank. Something seems to occur to her. “You’ve never seen it before?” 

Calico shuffles her head back and forth against her arm. “No. But the place isn’t what scared me.” A shiver runs through her like an electrical charge scurrying up her spine. 

“What did you see?” El whispers, carefully as if she’s worried someone might be listening in. 

A concerned frown pinches Calico’s brows as goosebumps pop up along her exposed arms and legs. “What do you mean?” Her own voice has dropped to a murmur. 

El purses her lips, searching Calico’s unsettled gaze. “You weren’t there alone. Were you?” At Calico’s tense silence, she presses on, “You saw something. And it saw you. That’s why you were screaming.” 

The older girl scoots her head closer to El’s until their foreheads nearly touch. “There was a...a monster. It was gross, and so ugly. It had me—was suffocating me...” Tears prickle at her eyes as the image of the horrid creature with its malformed tentacle-like limb coiled around her throat flashes across her mind, and she gulps hard against the nausea that the memory causes, only to grimace at the coarse ache in her throat. 

Calico watches as El lifts her hand and pushes her hair away from her neck, very lightly brushing the tips of her fingers across the skin there. It stings lightly, and Calico winces, her forehead puckering in a deep frown as she pulls away and sits up, alarmed. She quickly slides to the end of the bed and snatches up the handheld mirror from the dresser, holding it up to her neck. 

A choked gasp falls from her mouth as she takes in the bruise roughly two fingers thick gradually growing a dark mottled purple in a ring around her throat. Lifting her hair with a shaking hand, she turns her head to see that it goes around the entire circumference of her neck. In the very same place she was being strangled by the creature in her dream. Her fingers press carefully into the lesion, only to grunt from the soreness. 

_How is this possible?_

El shuffles behind her, searching her eyes over her shoulder through the reflection. Calico slowly lowers the mirror as she braces herself for what the girl might say, a swell of dread rising in her stomach. 

“I think you touched the Upside-Down,” El reveals grimly. 


	14. Chapter 14

“How does that make any sense?” Dustin exclaims. “The gate is closed.” 

El called the gang over the moment she could get them all together at once that weekend. It’s a little cramped in Hopper’s cabin, but they make do. Calico sits tucked in the corner of the couch, watching and listening intently as the kids bicker back and forth about the possibilities and implications of what she and El revealed. 

“Could there still be a demogorgon lurking in our dimension?” Lucas offers from his place on the floor beside Max. 

Mike adamantly shakes his head. “It’s impossible. When the gate was closed, it severed their connection to our dimension.” 

Calico would like to agree with him; considering that the closest she got to the other dimension was inside the tunnels beneath Hawkins, though nearly everyone else in the room traveled through them too. But that doesn’t explain why she’s the only one that dreamed of the Upside-Down, and potentially made contact with it. 

“So how do you explain what Calico saw, then, huh?” Max prompts, pale eyebrow raised brazenly. 

“Easy,” Dustin counters. “It was just a dream. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“A dream that resembled exactly what El sees when she uses her powers?”

“A coincidence.”

“And the monster?” Lucas challenges. 

“She’s got a creative mind, I’ll give her that.”

Calico doesn’t particularly like how they speak as if she isn’t sitting three feet away, but she attempts to hold in the scowl growing at her lips and waits for them to get out their opinions and theories. 

Will lounges in the armchair, legs crisscrossed and his elbows on his knees while his chin rests on his fists. “This really isn’t getting us anywhere.” 

Max addresses Calico, “Have you had anymore dreams like it since the first one?” 

She shakes her head. “No. It only happened a couple days ago, but I still can’t sleep through the night without seeing it all in my mind replaying over and over.” A shudder races across her shoulders and down her back. 

“Do you remember what the monster looks like?” Mike asks, wheels turning in his head as something seems to occur to him. 

“It’s imprinted in my mind, I don’t think I could forget. And, believe me, I want to.” 

He stands up and moves with purpose, entering the kitchen, opening and closing drawers and cabinets until he finds what he’s looking for. Returning to the living room, he holds up a small notepad and pencil. “Could you draw what it looked like, Cal?”

She peers up at him, frowning slightly before slowly taking the proffered items. “I, uh, yeah. I guess I could.” Calico places the notepad against the arm of the couch. With the pencil in her hand, she takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes for a moment. 

Massive. Mottled. Mutated. Gruesomely monstrous. Horrendously grotesque. A sinister set of shadowy tentacle-like limbs. A ghastly and lethal collection of teeth dripping saliva, wide and wicked and abominable as it closes over her—

A sharp gasp escapes Calico, and she tears open her eyes, glassy with terror.

“Cal,” El murmurs, gently placing her hand on her shoulder, careful not to jar her any further. 

The older girl has the pencil held tightly in her fist, and it’s only when El’s hand closes around hers that she eases her grip, sending the utensil rolling to the floor. Everyone in the room has gone weirdly silent. Calico realizes belatedly that they’ve all crowded around her, but they’re not looking at her. They’re staring at the notepad. 

“Holy shit,” Dustin breathes, his mouth hanging open in incredulity. 

Max pipes up, sounding a little shaken, “Uh, guys, doesn’t that look exactly like—“

“Uh huh,” the boys confirm together. 

Calico glances between them all, back and forth, her frown deepening. “What? What does it look like?” The pitch of her voice grows higher with anxiety. 

“We have to show her,” Mike concludes, turning to pick up his coat and pull it on. “We’ll be right back.” Lucas, Will, Dustin, and Max follow his lead, sliding into their own coats and shoes. 

“Wait.  _What?_ ” Calico quickly shakes her head. “You guys can’t just react like that then  leave! ” 

“We’re coming back,” Max assures her.

“We just need to pick up some evidence,” Dustin says. 

They all march out the door, letting the cold January air blow in before it shuts behind them, leaving just Calico and El in the silence left in their wake. 

“Do you know what they’re supposedly getting?” She addresses the younger girl, a little flustered by the kids’ abrupt exit. 

El gives her an ambiguous shrug. “If it will help, then we should wait.” 

“But what could they have that would confirm what I saw?” Calico’s gaze falls back to the notepad briefly, darting over the outline of the atrocious creature, and her pulse jumps nervously. 

She flips it over. 

*******

Calico is nursing a cup of freshly brewed tea when there’s an urgent knocking at the door. The kids must be back. El places her own mug of hot chocolate onto the table before pulling open the door, allowing them all back in, with a new addition. 

“Steve,” Calico blurts, her voice straining slightly, before sitting up and watching as he zones in on her and approaches with a small frown. 

“Why am I hearing from these clowns that you’ve been having night terrors?” He lowers himself beside her while jerking a thumb in the general direction of the kids piling back into the house. 

She sighs, gaze falling to her lap. “It was only one— Don’t worry.” 

“Yeah, right,” Dustin retorts with a chuckle as Mike rounds the couch to Calico’s side. He picks up her notepad while reaching into his pocket, and pulls out a folded piece of paper. 

“I’m just a phone call away, Cal.” Steve leans back and places his arm on the back of the sofa behind her shoulders. “If something is bothering you, I wanna hear about it. So I can help, if I can.” 

“I don’t think just talking it out is gonna help with this problem, Harrington,” Max says bleakly, standing behind Mike and looking around his shoulder at the crumpled paper he’s attempted to smooth out in one hand and the notepad in the other. 

“The hell are you talking about?” Steve jeers. 

Mike wordlessly places both paper and notepad in Calico’s lap, and everyone huddled around takes in the sight. The single sheet of paper has a drawing in black crayon, portraying the very same shape of her rudimentary sketch in the notebook. A large, ominous, tentacled creature. It looks like a shadow on paper, but what she saw was much worse. 

Calico squints, picking up the single sheet of paper. She recognizes it vaguely. “Will, you drew this, right?” She looks at the boy over her shoulder where he stands behind the couch next to Dustin. 

He pulls his gaze from the drawing before nodding once, wrapping his arms around himself as if the image unsettles him. Calico doesn’t blame him. “Yeah...” 

“It’s an exact replica,” Lucas comments. 

Mike points at the drawing. “Since you’ve seen this before, couldn’t your dream just have been your brain messing with you?”

Calico’s mouth twists. “What I saw was different. Worse. It looked so real, I can’t even describe it...” 

El leans forward to catch her gaze, offering, “Maybe you should show them.” 

Her nose wrinkles at her suggestion. But she has no real reason to keep it from them. They just want to help.

“Show us what?” Steve prompts, looking from El to Calico.

She hesitates, then reaches up to gently tug down her turtleneck, revealing the deep bruise with her eyes lowered. She isn’t sure she wants to see their reactions. 

“Holy shit,” Dustin exclaims as Max gasps aloud at the sight. 

“What the hell happened?” Steve bellows, turning to face her entirely as his expression grows appalled and furious. “Who did this, Cal?” 

“The monster,” El answers solemnly as Calico sits still, stiff with uneasiness while everyone examines her injury. 

“The what?” Steve picks up the notebook from her lap. “This thing? How the hell could  _this _have done  _that_?” He gestures to Calico’s neck as she rolls the fabric back up and over the bruise. 

“But that’s the mind flayer,” Will says. “Or, what I drew was anyway.” 

“Are you saying that Cal was attacked by the mind flayer in her dream?” Max concludes, her blue eyes wide. 

“We don’t know that it’s the mind flayer,” Mike says. “It could be something different that just looks a lot like it.” 

“They certainly look the same,” Lucas asserts, gesturing to the drawings. 

“Who cares whether it’s the mind flayer or not, it attacked Cal!” Steve declares, glaring at the bickering kids. 

“And in her sleep, apparently,” Max adds, still sounding rightly appalled. 

“Exactly. Who’s to say this thing won’t try hurting her again?” 

“How are we supposed to protect someone from their dreams exactly, Steve?” Dustin wonders, pinching at the bridge of his nose. 

“I haven’t seen it since this happened,” Calico explains, touching her neck. “I just don’t know what it means.” She still knows very little about the other dimension and the details of its connection to theirs, and after what happened last year, she doesn’t care much to learn more. But it would seem she has little choice in the matter. 

“El closed the gate,” Mike states plainly. “Nothing from the Upside-Down should still be here. It wouldn’t survive.” 

“So, what? She just keeps an eye on it?” Steve scoffs. “Did you not see her neck? What if it happens again?” 

Calico reaches out to slide her hand into his, lightly squeezing until he lowers his gaze to hers and takes a deep steadying breath. “It could have been an isolated incident. Or maybe it wasn’t. But it did happen, and I’d like to try to forget it as soon as possible.” She worries that doing so might occur later than she’d like, however. 

Steve sighs through his nose, eyes fixed on their clasped hands. “So, we just ignore it?”

“I’ll watch over her,” El announces. 

“Every night?” Mike shakes his head. 

Calico agrees. “You’re not going to sacrifice your own sleep.” 

“No. If I feel like something is wrong. I’ll wake you up.” 

“Did you feel something when this happened?” Calico wonders, gesturing to her neck. 

El purses her lips. “Something felt different. Like when you have a bad feeling in your belly. But I didn’t know what it was. Or where from. Then you woke up screaming.” She lowers her head, appearing almost ashamed. 

“Don’t blame yourself.” Calico frowns, leaning around Steve to catch her gaze. “You’ve done more than any of us. We all thought this whole thing was over.” 

“Well, let’s hope it is now,” Lucas says, rubbing the back of his head. 

_Agreed,_ Calico muses. Though it’s easier for the others to simply cross their fingers and hope for the best while she’s the one that has to continue going through every night in fear that the object of her nightmare will at some point reappear. How does one protect themself from a dream? Especially one that can physically assault and leave behind the markings in reality to show for it? 

Calico is not sure she can endure another attack like that again. She’s not sure she could survive it. 


	15. Chapter 15

Calico isn’t entirely sure how it happened, but somehow she’s ended up spending most of her Friday evening at Nancy Wheeler’s house. It’s not exactly how she expected to spend her birthday, but she figures there are worse ways. Besides, she didn’t want anyone making a fuss about it anyway which is why she’s kept that little fact to herself and didn’t give anyone a reminder. 

Frankly, she was startled and a little flustered when Nancy called and invited her over, but the gesture was nice. Calico hadn’t expected her to reach out, and she’s quickly discovered how nice it is to hang around a girl her own age.

“How’s it been, living with Hopper and El?” Nancy asks conversationally, concentrating on painting Calico’s nails a nice dark red color. 

Calico watches her careful strokes over each nail, coating them each with an even layer. “It’s been great.”

“You’ve settled in well, then?” She sends her a short glance and a smile before returning to work, moving on to the next hand.

While lifting the completed hand to lightly blow on the nails, Calico nods. “Yeah. It was easier than I thought it would be. I thought adjusting would be a little more challenging.” 

“I bet.” 

A few minutes pass in silence as Nancy finishes her nails, picking up her hand to inspect her work. “Can I ask you something?” She releases Calico’s hand. “It’s a little personal, so don’t feel like you have to answer if you don’t want to.”

A gentle current of wariness laps in Calico’s stomach, but she finds herself nodding. “Sure.”

“How did you even end up on your own?” Honestly, it’s a reasonable enough question, and Calico doesn’t blame her for asking, yet she still finds herself struggling to formulate an explanation she’ll understand. 

“My past... it’s a bit of a weird topic for me.” 

“Well, I’m willing to listen to your story if you’re ready to tell it.” 

That’s the thing. Calico isn’t certain she’ll ever be completely ready. Numerous times in the past she’s tried to map out how the conversation might go in her head, but talking about it in real life with a real person is always harder. Though she still wants to try. 

“I don’t...” She pauses and starts again, “I can’t remember where I came from, exactly. Where I was born,  when I was born, who my parents are. It’s all like an unfinished puzzle in my head; just pieces missing, leaving empty spaces in my memory.”

Nancy adjusts in her seat, leaning forward, intrigued. “Wait, so you can’t remember anything? How far back do your memories go?”

Calico’s nose scrunches up in thought. “Six or seven years or so? I can remember fending for myself and how much harder it was at first. But I never really felt helpless at all. Like I knew I’d be okay despite the difficulties of living on my own without a home or anyone to look after me. I felt prepared. I’ve just... never been able to recall why.” 

“And no one has tried looking for you? I mean, you haven’t heard of anyone searching for a missing child that fits your description?”

She shrugs halfheartedly. “Besides what happened to Will, kids going missing isn’t a regular occurrence around here.” 

Something seems to occur to Nancy, and she sits up as an intrigued expression befalls her slender features. “Did you ever hear about what went on in the Hawkins National Lab? What  really went on?” 

Calico merely blinks at her, slowly shaking her head. Other than the fact that it was closed down after being the epicenter of the inter-dimensional tear, there’s nothing else she bothered to learn about the place. It was never of much interest to her. In fact, she always found herself avoiding it whenever possible. The large building felt ominous and strange. 

Nancy explains, “That’s where El, and others like her, were raised and experimented on for years before the gate was torn open.”

Calico’s eyebrows rise in fascination, recalling how Dustin mentioned El once residing there. “Isn’t that how she got her powers?” 

“I think so. Her mom was experimented on too before she was even born.”

Her heart suddenly lurches. “She knew her mom?” Calico doesn’t mean to speak so quietly, so wistfully, but the new information makes her feel strange. Discovering that El of all people has a mother—something that she isn’t even sure she herself has—incites a sensation twisting in her belly. Envy? And the fact that she’s just now learning this, and from Nancy, makes her wonder if El trusts her enough to have eventually divulged this personally. But how could she be upset? For all she knows, El is trying to distance herself from the memories and remains of her past. If she really was experimented on in the lab, it would be understandable. Yet, it still stings. 

“I only know that she found her last year, but she’s been in a catatonic state for a long time. And that the people at the lab are responsible for it.” Nancy purses her lips, then tilts her head to meet Calico’s gaze as it wanders off in thought. “Have you ever been there? Inside? The lab, I mean.”

Calico’s eyes dart back to hers. “No. Never.” She shakes her head. 

“Hm,” Nancy hums ambiguously before going about picking herself out a color of polish for her own nails. “Think I’ll go with this one.” She picks up an icy blue, mere shades off from matching her eyes. 

*******

“Wanna go out and grab a bite to eat? I’m starving.” 

Calico looks at Nancy from her position lying on her back across the bed, lowering the Seventeen magazine in her hands. “Uh, sure.” She pushes herself to sit up as she notices the other girl casting a glance at the clock hung on the wall. It’s just a little past six. “Where at?” 

Nancy peers down at her in thought from her seat at the head of the bed. “I think the skating rink has a good deal on pizza during the weekends. So, does there sound okay?” 

“Is their pizza good?” Calico tosses the magazine with the pile of others in a basket beside Nancy’s dresser. 

Nancy scoots off the mattress to stand. “The pieces are huge and they use almost too much cheese. So, definitely.”

“Cool.” Calico pushes to her feet and hunts for her shoes, eventually finding them shoved in the corner beside the door. “Let’s go.” 

*******

It’s never been fun to step out into the brisk January cold after residing in a toasty place. Even with a t-shirt, sweater, coat, and gloves, Calico can still feel the chill seep through the fabric. 

Nancy shuts the car door and stuffs her hands into her pockets before leading Calico to the entrance of the skating rink. Calico has never been personally, but then there’s several places she hasn’t been to yet because to attend or participate, it cost money she never had. The rink has its own building, sitting apart from the general downtown plaza that a majority of Hawkins’ businesses reside. 

Inside, there’s upbeat music playing, and it’s pretty dark until they reach the end of the entrance hall. The room opens up, and she pauses at the top of the ramp that leads down into the carpeted area around the rink. Neon lights light up the room, and glow in the dark designs are all over the walls and ceiling. The rink itself is full of people on roller skates, moving in circles around the perimeter. Some people skate with ease alone while others hold onto each other to lessen the likelihood of falling. 

“Cal?” Nancy draws her attention to where she stands waiting for her at the bottom of the ramp. She follows after her, watching as she passes the food stall and walks to the far wall where she notices several curtains lined up. 

“Isn’t that where we should get the pizza?” She gestures over shoulder with a small frown. 

“In a minute. I want to show you something.” Nancy smiles secretively before stopping beside one of the curtains. “Take a look.” 

Calico blinks at her in suspicion, but slowly approaches nevertheless. “Look at what?” 

She merely gestures with a theatrical flourish of her hand, smile steadily growing larger. 

Calico returns a confused smile of her own before deciding to simply indulge Nancy. She grips the heavy fabric and yanks it aside, only to be assaulted with a bright flash of light in her eyes and loud party horns in her ears as numerous voices shout, “Happy birthday!” 

The room is illuminated with actual lights, and she has to squint a bit until her eyes adjust. Once they do, she stiffens, rooted in place. It’s a sea of faces, and only a few are familiar to her. Mike, Max, Lucas, Will, Dustin, El. But there’s so many others. So many unfamiliar faces. They seem excited to see her, and she isn’t sure why. She doesn’t know them. Why are they here? 

Tension coils through her limbs until she’s trembling with it. _What is this? _

“Cal!” Steve’s voice reaches her ears before her eyes catch him detaching from the crowd and scooping her up into a hug and spinning. He grins at her, but she can’t find it in herself to return a smile of her own. 

Her chest feels weird and heavy, and it’s a little difficult to breathe, as if her trachea has shrunken to the size of a narrow straw. “...down.” 

Steve’s smile wavers and he leans his face closer to hers. “Hm?” 

Calico shoves at his shoulder with one hand while the other frantically pats at the other. “Put me down!” 

He attempts to make sure her feet are on the ground, but she doesn’t give him the chance and pushes away, stumbling slightly before spinning on her heel and bolting from the room, back around and up the ramp and out into the frigid night. Her name is called, echoing behind her before it’s muffled by the entrance door shutting. 

Palpitations race in Calico’s chest while her lungs struggle to refill with oxygen. Her arms and legs begin to feel numb, and her vision is wobbly and bleary. She follows the solid wall of the building before her feet finally fail her, and she collapses onto the sidewalk on hands and knees. A rough cough is forced out in an attempt to loosen whatever is tightening her throat. An odd strangled whine escapes her lips as tears flood her eyes, and she scoots against the wall as her body curls in on itself. 

“Calico!”

A presence drops before her, and she’s being shifted, pulled into someone warm and steady. 

“Breathe, kitten.  _Breathe__._” Steve’s voice murmurs tremulously in her ear. “In, slowly.” He pauses. “Then out, slowly.” His hands brush her hair back and out of her face, the other cradling her to his chest. “In, then out. Come on.” He takes one of her limp hands and places it against his chest. “With me.” He breathes as a demonstration. 

Calico follows his breathing, the air stuttering in her throat before gradually growing easier. And the unbearable tightness loosens. When it does, the tears break free and make tracks down her cheeks. 

“I— I’m sorry,” she hiccups, hand cupping her mouth as if that will help hold back the agonizing ache residing in her chest that wants to burst out. “I don’t know what happened. All of those people... I didn’t know them—“

“No, I wasn’t thinking.” Steve runs a hand down his face. “I’m an idiot. I never even considered that you’d be uncomfortable with something like this.” He looks down at her, appearing harrowed and incredibly guilty. 

In truth, Calico didn’t exactly ever voice her concerns to him either about her discomfort with crowds. Her time spent with him, the kids, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, and Hopper involved more people than she ever remembers interacting with. But being surrounded by strangers all focused on her sent her into a panic, and it was self-preservation that led her to make an escape. 

“Don’t be upset,” she says, taking his hand in hers. 

“Don’t be—“ He chuckles without humor, shaking his head. “You’re the one that should be pissed, Cal. Hell, you mentioned wanting to spend your birthday with just the two of us watching movies and eating candy. I’m a tone deaf moron.” 

Calico directs a glower at him. “Not a moron. A little oblivious. But not a moron.” 

He laughs again, more genuine this time. “Well, this non-moron wants to make it up to you.” 

“Like a redo?” 

Steve nods, folding his fingers over hers and blowing warm air over them. “Yeah. If you’re up to it, wanna grab a movie at the theater? Just the two of us?”

She smiles a little more blithely now that the worst of the discomfort from her crisis has passed. “I think I’d really like that.” 

*******

Since it’s a Sunday evening, most people are at home preparing for the new week. Which means the theater is pretty empty. Calico and Steve are among a small number of patrons in the auditorium watching a film that, according to Steve, has already been out for a while. 

Calico has dug into the basket of nachos in her lap, occasionally sipping at the beverage in the cup holder beside her. Steve has the large bag of popcorn in his hands, shoving handfuls into his mouth at a time. 

She’s been so occupied with feeding herself, that she is no longer sure what is going on in the movie. She really doesn’t care much for horror movies, and has opted to keep her eyes lowered while she eats. Curving towards Steve she whispers, “What is happening?” 

“Uh, Freddy killed more people.” Steve glances at her, then does a double take. An amused grin pulls at his lips, edging towards laughter. 

“What?” 

Steve points at his cheek, and Calico merely blinks at him in confusion. “Here, I got it.” He pulls a napkin from where he shoved some into his jacket pocket and reaches over to wipe at her cheek with a chuckle. “You have cheese all over yourself.” He places a fresh napkin in her outstretched hand and watches as she rubs around her mouth and chin. 

“Did I get it all?” She turns her face back and forth, giving him a good look. 

He leans closer to inspect, placing his fingers at her chin to stop her head from moving. “Looks like it.” Quick as you please, he places a kiss against her lips before pulling back and readjusting in his seat with a satisfied grin. 

Calico licks lightly at her lips, tasting the residual saltiness that transferred from his, as her cheeks pulse with warmth. The paper nacho container is placed on the floor until she can throw it away once the movie is over, and curls herself towards Steve to rest her head on his shoulder. 

Evidently finished with his own snack, he wipes off his hands before lifting his arm to place around Calico. The scene on the screen is another one filled with blood-curdling screams and gratuitous amounts of gore, and Calico cringes at the sight, lips pursed in mild disgust as Freddy Krueger gets ahold of another unlucky victim. 

Her eyes flutter away from the gruesome sight, falling to the floor where she examines her shoes tapping lightly against the linoleum. Light flickers ahead on the screen, but darkness floods the spaces between the aisles and seats. The toe of her sneakers bounce on the floor in a rhythm of her own making, and she’s suddenly so much more interested in it than she is the film. 

_Tap. _

Eyes focused on the shadows her feet occupy, Calico follows the beat as if already deeply familiar with it. 

_Tap. Tap. Tap. _

She doesn’t even really need to think about it. Her body simply responds to an unheard pattern. 

_Tap. Tap._

Weirdly, one of her legs begins to tingle, almost feeling numb. The sensation winds up her calf, coiling like a rope until it is uncomfortable. She shakes her leg in an attempt to rid herself of the discomfort, only to discover she can’t move it. Her limb is stuck as if held down by an unseen force. She blinks, perplexed as she reaches out to touch her leg, and goes stock still. 

A black tentacle-like mass has detached from the shadow and curls around her leg, binding it tightly while it inches higher. The familiar sight isn’t lost on her, and panic seizes her immediately. Lurching forward, she grips the appendage—disgustingly mushy and somehow solid enough to not squish apart under the force of her fingers—and yanks in an attempt to loosen its unyielding hold. 

A pained wail abruptly shoots from her lungs as the appendage constricts to an unbearable degree. “Steve!” She cries, looking to the seat next to her. Horror befalls her when she sees it is empty. An alarmed glance around the room presents an empty theater. Everyone is gone. Even the screen has gone dark. She’s alone.

A sharp pain courses through her leg, and Calico shrieks, writhing in her chair against the creature. She desperately grips the arm of the seat beside her and begins attempting to haul herself away. Her leg is held at an awkward angle, and she hisses as it is bent in a way it isn’t meant to be. 

From the corner of her eye, something somehow darker than the shadows shudders beneath the seats, slowly sloughing away from the darkness to regain its form in front of Calico. The noise that slips from her throat is pathetic and reminiscent of a trapped animal under the feral gaze of a predator.

The abhorrent creature reaches its full height above her trembling figure, raising her leg in its grasp until she has to grab ahold of the armrest with a terrified yelp. 

“Let go, let go!” She screams, torrents of tears coursing down her cheeks. “Leave me alone!” Her body jerks about in an attempt to dislodge the appendage, sobs heaving her chest. 

Ever higher, the creature pulls, until Calico’s grip on the armrest slips, and she’s suddenly hanging upside down, flailing about as blood rushes to her head. The monster looks no better from this angle, and Calico tries to swing away, arms reached out to grab ahold of anything that can get her away from this thing. 

When another limb ensnares her by the throat, she manages to get out another blood-curdling scream before she’s swung back around and met with the sight of a massive crowd of deadly teeth set in the head of the mind flayer. 

“Steve...” She gurgles breathlessly before she’s ruthlessly dragged under into darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

When Calico comes to, it isn’t in the waking world. Reality is elsewhere. She’s returned to the pitch black void of her first encounter with the mind flayer. The main difference this time is that she is lying on the strange ground rather than her bed. It’s also cold. Frigid and dry. 

Shivers wrack her body as she pushes to her feet. Goosebumps have already begun to break out along her arms and the back of her neck. Despite the fact that she is still wearing exactly what she was while in the theater, the chill seeps deeply into her, to the bone. 

Calico hugs her arms around herself as she turns in place, observing the environment around her a bit more closely now that she is more aware of just where she is. 

“Human.” 

A spike of fear surges along her spine at the strange and eerie voice—somehow it echoes through the space despite the chilling whispery quality—and Calico spins around, only to come face to face with the very despicable creature that dragged her here. She lurches back so abruptly with a shrill scream that she stumbles over her own feet and falls back onto the ground, desperately scrambling backwards. 

_This thing can talk?!_ Calico balks, frozen where she’s fallen. 

“Be still,” the creature commands. It doesn’t attack. It doesn’t come for her at all. Rather it remains in place, its fleshy tentacles undulating passively in the air around its massive form. 

She can practically taste the erratic thrumming of her pulse on the back of her tongue. But she does as it says and remains seated on the ground, head craned back to state up at it. “What do you want from me?” 

“Cooperation.” 

Her face pinches in confusion. “For what?” What could this monster possibly want from her specifically that would warrant dragging her back to this place? 

“Assimilation.”

Calico swallows thickly against the rise of bile burning at the back of her throat. “Why me?” 

“Convenience.” 

She frowns deeply, terror stricken. “What does that mean...?” 

Calico isn’t sure if this thing has eyes, but if it did, she figures they would be directed upon her in explicit exasperation. “No more questions, human. You will come to me.” 

“Come to you?” She scoffs, though her voice is tremulous. “You’re already right here! If you’re gonna kill me, then just do it!” Tears spring in her eyes as she shoves to her feet defiantly. “Get it over with!” She flings her arms out at her sides. 

The mind flayer doesn’t move, and she gets the impression that it is growing annoyed judging by the increased agitated movement of its limbs. “You will not be killed. Neither here nor in your reality. Your death would serve no purpose.” 

“My reality?” She mutters to herself, puzzled, before addressing the creature. “Well, the only way you’ll get me to you without a fight in any reality is if I’m dead, so I guess it’s a loss for us both.” 

Its appendages flicker in tense whips; a clear expression of its irritation. Apparently it’s had enough. “You will come to me,” it commands, its voice crackling like white noise. “You will come, and you will be part of me.”

A heavy shudder courses through Calico at the implications of its words. “I already said—“

“If you do not,” it hisses, “you will offer one in your place instead.” 

She rears back slightly. “Why would I do something like that?”

“You have no choice, girl.” A limb snaps intimidatingly close to her, and she jumps back a step with a squeak. “You will come to me, or you will bring someone to replace you. If you do not do this, I will come for those you hold most dear. Tell anyone, and you will become part of me anyway.”

A tear escapes and races down the curve of her cheek while her chin trembles. “Why me? Why are you doing this to me?” 

“Girl, I am not the one that turned you into a gateway. That is a question for your creators. I am simply doing what I must. For what I am.” 

“Turned me into a what?” She stutters, mind whirling in bewilderment. “My creators? Like, my parents? You know who they are?  _Where _they are? Who am I—“

Her words are sharply cut off as the mind flayer lashes out and ferociously grips her by the neck. It squeezes until she gives a pitiful wheeze. “Work quickly, (Y/N). Or there will be consequences.” 

It releases her so abruptly that she flails back with a loud choked gasp, only to trip and fall until her back meets the ground. But her body glides right through and continues to fall freely. She’d scream if she could catch her breath, and her vision quickly closes in around her like a tunnel of darkness, blackness swallowing her whole. 

*******

Light pierces Calico’s eyes as she jerks awake, body jolting in place. Her palms immediately press to her eye sockets, rubbing at the residual sting. Sunlight is beaming through the window and right onto the bed. She lowers her hands and blinks against the bleariness and tears swimming in her vision. 

Even before her eyes entirely adjust, Calico comes to the conclusion that she is not in the theater anymore. She isn’t in her room either. This isn’t Hopper’s house. This isn’t even her bed. The mattress is quite stiff, and the sheet is glaringly white and crisp. Not to mention the smell; it’s stringent to the point that her nose tickles every time she breathes in. It’s all so clinical. 

Her heart drops. 

Why does it somehow feel familiar? Why does it feel... wrong? She knows she’s never been in this exact place before, but the atmosphere feels like the essence of a memory that she should recognize. But there’s nothing. Only the frustrating blank of a thought with nowhere to go.

Calico shifts in preparation to get up, only to catch a steady beeping close by. Her eyes finally clear up and veer along the off-white walls, and stop at the strange machinery next to her. A bulky metal box with a screen displays her vitals. Tubes run from the machine and a bag hanging from a metal pole beside her, and to her arms where they’re held in place by strips of tape.

She blinks at the sight. Until an abrupt and unexpected bolt of fear strikes her in the chest. Scrambling, Calico yanks the tubes from her arms, tearing out needles embedded in her flesh and paying no mind to the bubbles of blood they leave behind, and the continuous beep the machine releases. When she scoots to the edge of the bed, something tugs at her chest and temples, and she rips off the discs suctioned there. It’s when her bare feet meet the cold floor that she notices the flimsy cotton gown she’s wearing. 

Automatically, Calico lifts her gaze to search the room for her clothes. Only what her eyes find aren’t what she was wearing in the movie theater. 

Flowers. Sitting on the window sill are two vases of flowers. Yellow roses with a cluster of babies breath, and pink carnations with yellow alstroemerias. Nestled between them both is a small plush cat with a “Get Well” balloon tied to its paw.

Perplexed, she pushes to her feet, only to wobble on her legs and have to catch herself on the bed. Why does she feel so weak? Carefully, Calico shuffles around to the window, keeping ahold of the bed frame all the while. 

Her eyes catch a glimpse of the outside through the glass, and something appears a little off, but she can’t quite articulate what it might be because the moment she reaches her goal, the door at the other side of the room bursts open. 

“Miss Hopper! You need to get back in bed.”

Calico looks over her shoulder, stunned for a moment as two people enter the room in a whirlwind and approach her. She steps away and presses herself into the corner. “Where am I? Where’s Steve?”

A woman in scrubs holds her hands out placatingly, as if Calico is some feral animal that they’re trying to keep from attacking. “You’re in Hawkins General.” 

“The hospital.” Calico frowns, but she supposes it makes sense. She did pass out in the movie theater. 

The woman nods. “Yes.” She gestures to the bed. “If you’ll please lie back down, I’ll explain what happened.” 

Calico drags her gaze to the other person in the room; a man, also wearing scrubs who is watching her attentively. Slowly, she steps back to the bed and sits down on the edge. This is as good as they’re going to get. 

Apparently finding it good enough for now, the woman sighs lightly. “My name is Nurse Carmen. That is Nurse Liam.” She perches herself next to Calico. “You’ve been asleep for a while, Miss Hopper. 

Something jerks uncomfortably in Calico’s stomach. “Asleep?” 

Nurse Carmen clears her throat carefully in preparation to respond, but Nurse Liam answers instead while messing about with the machine until the incessant beeping stops, “You were in a coma.” 

A harsh laugh bubbles from Calico’s lips at his blunt explanation, but the discomfort in her belly becomes an aching nausea. “How long?”

“Four months.” 

Another laugh, and she has to cover her mouth in case whatever is inside her stomach decides to come hurtling out. Tears prickle her eyes, and her chest hurts, because she realizes what was wrong with her brief glimpse of the outside through the window. 

There was no snow. It was green and bright with the newborn life of spring. 


End file.
